


Lakewood 4 + 1

by LittleLonnie



Category: Scream (TV)
Genre: Angst, Blood, Bromance, Brotp, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Sexual Content, Other, Romance, otp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-20
Updated: 2016-09-11
Packaged: 2018-08-10 00:21:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 22,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7822993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleLonnie/pseuds/LittleLonnie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set after 'When A Stranger Calls' where Noah meets Emma and Audrey after it's all over. The group of survivors have to deal with what has happened and comes to an agreement to leave Lakewood behind for sometime to visit Audrey's mum in Boston.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Man Down

**Author's Note:**

> So now that Scream is over, hopefully just for now (until october wooooh!) I was left full of feels for these characters. So this will obviously contain spoilers from the last episode. A whole lot of fluff and cuddles and friendships. Also I needed me some Naudrey in all this Emrey (which btw is lovely too btw, but I just have my heart set on Naudrey XD).
> 
> The title 'Lakewood 4 + 1' is Emma, Audrey, Noah and Brooke + Gustavo.

"Audrey? Audrey!" Emma's voice finally managed to penetrate the pounding headache she had going on and it was only then Audrey realized she was kneeling on the ground. Emma had a good hold of her arms and were kneeling in front of her looking alarmed at her and it took Audrey a moment to realize that she had blacked out. Not enough to collapse completely, but simply sink to her knees while she had been leaning heavily on Emma's shoulder.

"You need to get your head checked," Emma sighed, sitting back on her legs and looked up at Sheriff Acosta who assured her there were ambulances around the corner.

"How long have you wanted to tell me that?" Audrey cracked a smile while pressing the heel of her hand against her temple. Emma didn't answer the sassy question at first, just silently scolded her before wrapping her arm under Audrey's arms to help her back to her feet,

"Sassing a psycho with a gun pointed at your head. Only you would do that."

"Got his attention off you," Audrey sighed, letting Emma lead the way out after the Sheriff. Her head cleared a bit once they got to the fresh air outside so she pushed gently away from Emma when she was sure she could remain on her own feet.

"I know," Emma seemed to try and smile, but right now there were hardly much to smile about. She was grateful for the way Audrey had tried to get Kieran's attention when he got too close to her and in return Emma did the same when he got too close to Audrey.

"Now go get your arm checked. Please," the dark haired girl more or less ordered as an ambulance came to a stop near the police car Kieran had been locked into. Emma was ready to argue against it, but when the ambulance personnel came for her she didn't fight it.

As soon as the police car with Kieran drove off another car arrived to the scene that Audrey would recognize anywhere. An uncharacteristical sob of relief left her lips as Noah wrenched the door open and was there to catch her when she came at him.

"I swear you'll be the death of me one day!" he found himself grabbing her by the head and pressed their foreheads together while she smiled despite the situation. Clutching at his shirt as she let herself calm down,

"You can't just disappear on us like that. I don't think I've had this many panic attacks in one day before," he sighed and found himself kissing her. Thankfully she was still smiling when he broke the kiss and she nuzzled her nose against his before wrapping her arms around his neck while his snaked around her waist.

"I didn't really have much to say in the matter, Noah. I really wish we would stop splitting up though," she mumbled against his shoulder in which he nodded in agreement rather than starting a rant about horror movie rules. He had time for that later to remind the little group of how many rules they had broken over the past weeks.

It wasn't until then he realized what he had his fingers digging into,

"Audrey?"

"Mhm?"

"Are you wearing the killer costume?" he asked, lifting at the black material a little.

"Ah. Yeah..." she pulled away just enough to look down at herself,

"He wanted to frame me and Emma..." she trailed off realizing there was no way he would know Kieran was the killer. She rested her hands on his shoulders and sighed, glancing towards Emma at the back of the ambulance while her arm were getting wrapped up,

"Kieran. It was Kieran. All along actually."

Noah stared at her, his shoulders slumping. Now that was a hard blow to take. Especially for Emma. How could he have been so blind to him? He found himself pulling gently on the black coat, not liking seeing her in it,

"Is he... dead?" he asked, helping Audrey pull the coat over her head before handing it to the Sheriff as he came over to them and answered the question instead.

"He's been taken in... Audrey. We will need you and Emma to explain everything that has happened, but first I'd advice you to go with Emma to the hospital. She explained she found you unconscious. Get that checked out and I will talk to you later," Acosta explained, accepting the killer's coat to take it with him.

"Yes, sir," Audrey mumbled and nodded, already feeling Noah brushing his hand gently through the short part of her hair. She moaned when his fingers felt a nasty bump near the back, covered in dry blood,

"We sent Kieran to go get you when we had went to explore the noise in the theater. Damnit I'm so sorry, Audrey," he sighed, wrapping his arm back around her shoulders as they walked to the ambulance to join Emma.

"You know me. A blow to the head is nothing," Audrey shrugged, relieved to see Emma's arm bandaged and taken care of for now. It'd probably need some stitched at the hospital and she could only hope the cut on the back of her head wasn't in need of it.

"Emma," Noah gently pulled Emma into a hug as well who gladly accepted it.

"Before you ask, I'm fine. I probably wont be in the morning, but right now... Right now everything feels so surreal," she explained, letting Audrey take her good hand to help her into the back of the ambulance. Audrey allowed herself to lay down on the gurney that was in the ambulance with a satisfied smile on her lips that were soon rubbed off when one of the medics patted her shoulder,

"If you're suffering from a concussion I can't let you sleep just yet," the man explained, receiving a dead glare from Audrey.

"That's unfair," she sighed, but didn't fight it. Instead Emma nudged her up a little so she could sit on the gurney with her, letting Audrey rest her head back on her lap.

"Now I can flick your nose whenever you close your eyes," Emma explained with a little humor, but with no smile. Noah chuckled by the back doors, attracting the girl's attention to him,

"I'll follow in my car okay? I'll see you soon," he said, clearly not wanting to leave them, but not wanting to let his car stay here either since he had no intention of visiting the orphanage again anytime soon.

 


	2. Brain Damage?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hospital time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a bit of chatting and fluff for this chapter. So yeah Audrey is my favorite character in this show which should be a given considering my focus on her, but I swear there'll be more characters in the next chapter ;D

"What do you mean ' _how's Brooke doing_ '?" Audrey asked as they walked into the hospital and was immediately met by a doctor and two nurses who escorted them into a lone room.   
"She was stabbed at the theater not long after you vanished," Emma explained after the doctor assured Brooke was stable and currently resting. Audrey cursed under her breath before she climbed onto a hospital bed to sit on the edge while the doctor collected his things so he could check her for a concussion.

"Have she at any point lost consciousness?" he asked Emma about Audrey while she was currently busy rubbing at her bandaged arm.  
"She was unconscious when I found her. Wasn't sure what had caused it. Then she almost passed out after it was over," Emma explained, recieving a grumble from Audrey who always prefered to pretend everything was fine. Emma wouldn't have any of that of course and once the doctor was done with everything he went away to prepare the tests which was when Noah joined them in the room.

"Would you mind if I went to check on Brooke?" Emma asked, sliding off the bed while holding onto Audrey's hand as if it was the only thing keeping her grounded right now.  
"You do that. I'll come over later," Audrey said and pulled Emma into a hug,  
"We'll get through this. We did it before. We can do it again," she encouraged. Emma returned the hug, but didn't answer. Right now it felt like nothing was right. She just needed to see with her own eyes that Brooke was indeed a survivor.

The place next to her was occupied again not long after Emma left, feeling an arm slide around her like it always did. She could always count on him being there to lean on.   
"How is your belly?" she asked, pawing his belly gently over his shirt where she could feel the bandage still protecting the wound.  
"It's alright. You know I wouldn't have survived all that had it been... deeper," he didn't want to relieve those hours in the coffin, but it had only been a few days so it was unavoidable. Seeing Brooke getting stabbed only to have the knife being roughly pulled out had resulted in a even worse wound for her so he hardly felt like complaining.

Audrey shifted, pulling one leg up and turning more to face him,  
"I can't believe he almost got you," she said and wrapped her arms around his neck instead to pull him closer, his temple bumping against hers,  
"I'm sorry about everything Noah. I never meant to hurt you with all these secrets," she whispered, feeling his eyes on her. His arm lazily draped across her lap.  
"I'll make it up to you," she promised,  
"I'll earn your trust back."

He shook his head with a forced smile,  
"You don't have to earn anything back. It's okay," he said, but Audrey ignored it.  
"Come _on_. I've known you for years now. I can tell when you lie. I know you recorded my confession on purpose. It... it hurt knowing that, but I understand. I have been acting shady in every sense of the word," she sat back a little, brushing a hand through her hair when she was starting to feel hot and uncomfortable,  
"I was scared and humiliated and... ashamed. I wanted to pretend none of it had happened and all that did was make things worse."

"That's usually what happens," Noah sighed, lifting his hand to rest on her neck,  
"Look at me, Audrey. You made mistakes. Some rather big ones, but the worst thing you could do is not learning from them, okay? I've already forgiven you and I trust you with my life even now. Maybe I'll need some time to... come to terms with things, but... I know I don't want to lose you. Just please learn from your mistakes," he told her and she felt a slight squeeze on her neck. Feeling an unexpected sense of relief when he finally admitted that everything wasn't ' _fine_ ', but that there were no doubt that he'd want to keep her.

"I will," she nodded and quickly learned forward to give him a kiss on the cheek, but ended up hitting the corner of his lips instead.  
"Ah. Sorry," she made a slight comedic face as she carefully slid off to bed to stand next to him, though he held onto her hand so she wouldn't go to far.  
"Don't be. But... You're not going anywhere before the doctor comes back," he reminded her, pulling her back to the bed where he was sitting,

"You might have a brain damage afterall."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was bingewatching the first season again today and man Audrey looks so young. Like, really baby Audrey and then season 2 come along and she looks just a lot more mature and... good? No wonder Noah got sweet on her. *sigh* Can't get enough of these two.


	3. Passing the Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Officially admitted to the hospital the survivors settle in for a stay and Audrey reunites with one she can't quite call a friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well Brooke isn't very talkative yet, but there was one interaction I kind of wanted to see in the finale which was between Audrey and Gustavo. They've been butting heads since the start afterall so it would have been interesting to see where they stood after the revelation. So I just did a little scene with that.

"If I have a brain damage it's from the years spent with you."

"Oh you love me," Noah grinned, nudging her gently in the shoulder and taking note of the little smile she returned to him. It was almost a relief that the Doctor decided to return at that moment since he wasn't sure how long it would take before an awkward silence would have followed. Love was a... strange topic right now. A sensitive one.

She was suffering from a concussion which didn't really take her by surprise considering she had been showing the signs of one. She was told to stay overnight so they could keep an eye on her through the night. She was assigned the same room as Brooke and she couldn't help wonder if the Sheriff had any say in that. Wanting the Survivors in one place would probably make things a little easier for him. She didn't complain as she walked with Noah through the hospital to her new room, finding Emma and Gustavo with a sleeping Brooke. There were a strained silence between her and Stavo, one she was fine with ignoring for now as she settled on the new bed. A satisfied sigh leaving her lips as her head hit the pillow.

"Hey, how about I go to your house and get you something more comfortable to wear?" Noah suggested as a nurse joined them in the room to care for her.

"I'll come with you. I need to see mum," Emma said and stood up from the chair, looking down at her tank top as she did,

"I could use a change too I suppose."

Despite the Sheriff's wish of wanting them to stay, Noah was technically not a patient anymore and Emma frankly did as she wished and that was to get out of the bloody clothes.

"You kissed her back there," Emma said from the passenger's seat, glancing sideways at Noah.

"Yeah it was... just... nothing," he tried to shrug it off as nothing.

"It was something," Emma pointed out.

"I thought I had lost her. Of all the people in my life she... I don't know what I would do. I was just happy to see her," he explained, slowly rolling to a stop outside Audrey's house where they had agreed on stopping first. After picking up new clean clothes for Audrey their next stop was Emma's house where they were bombarded by Maggie who had heard the news of Kieran.

Neither of them could blame Maggie for coming along with them back to the hospital once they had been by the store as well to bring a little surprise to the girls. Well, more so to Audrey than Brooke since she more than likely wouldn't be allowed to eat a whole lot yet. Or would want to.

 

* * *

 

Audrey did sleep, but despite her weariness she didn't remain so for long. So she spent a few minutes just looking over at Stavo by Brooke's side.

"So Kieran huh?" his voice making Audrey jolt a little in surprise much to her annoyance.

"If you're going to brag about me being wrong it's really not the time," she mumbled into the pillow. Keeping an eye on him as he turned in the chair to look at her. He didn't answer at first, seemingly looking for something to say.

"I suspected you for the longest time," he said to which Audrey just shrugged since that was nothing new,

"As late as this morning I was sure it was you. Especially after that video."

That had Audrey's eyes snap open before she lifted herself up a little.

"Video? What video?" she asked, her mind slowly remembering having heard something about a video the kil... that Kieran apparently hacked the Morgue with to target her and Emma. Stavo was already flicking through his pad to find it, holding it towards her to see. It was nasty to say the least. Manipulated and so damning there were no wonder the whole of Lakewood had been looking for them. Of course both her confession and her with Jake's body was there. Which wasn't manipulation.

"Even after that Brooke refused to believe you were the killer. I don't know what it is about you that has earned that trust, but-" he trailed off and closed off his pad,

"I'm glad she was right. You're shady enough as it is."

That had her laugh so hard it surprised even her,

"Look who's talking."

* * *

 

"Look who's bonding," Noah returned with a proud smile on his lips seeing Audrey and Stavo looking at something on his pad. Both sending him the stink eye.

"We're not bonding," Audrey denied.

"We're passing time," Stavo said with confidence as he got off Audrey's bed,

"I'm going to look for dad."

With that he was gone and Emma settled by Brooke's side so Noah could help Audrey. To offer her some privacy he pulled the curtain around the bed before placing the bags on her bed,

"Brought your favorite t-shirt and pj bottoms," he smiled, receiving a kiss on the cheek for his troubles and before he knew it she had pulled her shirt over her head leaving her in her bra.

"Are things going to be awkward between us?" she asked quietly, noticing how Noah busied himself with a plastic bag full of food and candy.

"What? No of course not," he smiled, closing his eyes when she invaded his space so her forehead bumped against his chin. There were a new kind of intimacy that kind of made his heart beat a little faster, but he couldn't help but worry a bit too. He knew Audrey wouldn't mess with his feelings for her just for kicks after all so he really wasn't sure what this was.

"I'm confusing you."

"Well. Yeah."

"If it helps I'm confusing myself too," she said, feeling his arms wrap around her again.

"I'm sorry I kissed you again."

"Don't be," she countered this time and lifted her head enough to kiss him on the lips.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a question for you guys! If you could fill the timejump between the killer revelation and the three months later - what would you have wanted to see? Just curious. Maybe I'd get some ideas :D


	4. Heart to Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final girls is carrying on a lot of guilt after everything so a heart to heart is very much needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the kudos guys! It means a lot :) I hope you all like the story, you're a quiet bunch XD  
> I've had a few days off work which has allowed me time to write and post daily, but can't promise I'll be able tomorrow as I go back to work then. We'll see how much I'll be able to write tonight (I tend to write best at night for some reason).

Kissing her again was maybe too soon after everything, but it was good. It was warm and it was needed. Having his hands resting on the bare skin on her sides were an unexpected plus. Also needed. Feeling her ribs expand just a little as she breathed. She was very much alive just like he needed her to be. His thumbs stroking the skin just under her breasts which caused her to smile against his lips. Which reminded him she was rather ticklish there.  
"If I knew you wanted candy so much I would have brought it sooner," he whispered, relieved that Emma most likely had turned on the TV in the room making it hard for anyone outside the curtains to hear their whispered words.  
"Yeah because it's the candy I was happy to see,» she rolled her eyes and took a step back to pull her new, clean shirt on.  
She changed into the new clothes and got into bed as Noah pulled the curtains again to find Emma trying to eat something, but clearly not having much of an appetite.  
"Emma," Audrey called to get her attention, waving her hand,  
"Come?" she asked and for a whole minute Emma tried to decide between the noodles in the box she was picking at or Audrey offering comfort. Sighing it was a rather easy choice as she got up and crawled up on the hospital bed beside her childhood friend. She was nearing her breaking point and it wouldn't surprise her if Audrey was sensing it. Or at least expecting it.

"I can't believe it," Emma whispered after a good ten minutes so only Audrey would hear it now that Noah took a seat in another chair to try and watch some TV.  
"For so long he was completely full of lies," she chewed hard on her bottom lip before pressing her face into Audrey's shoulder. Like when they were little they would offer each other's shoulders try cry on when a boy had been mean to them or whatever else might have hurt them. They were not kids any longer though. The boy had more than just hurt her now. She let a killer into her life not once, but twice. Endangered her friends and lost too many.  
"I've messed up so bad," she cried quietly, trying to brush her own tears away just so Audrey's shirt wouldn't be soaked.  
"Who hasn't at this point though? Emma, he had us all fooled. He's not worth your tears," she consoled, brushing her hand through the sandy blond locks,  
"The way you stood up to him and owned him was admirable. You didn't give him the satisfaction of losing him. If you're not proud of that I'll be proud enough for the both of us."  
Emma smiled weakly at that, tightening her arm around Audrey. They were quiet after that and tears continued to stream down her cheeks. Tears for her friends and tears for the man that managed to manipulate her into loving him. It would be hard to think about the good times they had had and know it was all false. That charming face and sweet smile. She did love him. Yes she was glad she had managed to focus on the important things back at the Orphanage, but it hurt. She didn't realize her hands kept clenching and unclenching on Audrey until she felt a lingering kiss on the top of her head.

The Sheriff came by sometime in the morning with Maggie and took Emma away to give an explanation. It allowed Audrey some time to sleep again before she too would be taken out to tell absolutely everything. Once it was Audrey's turn she had her heart in her chest through the whole interview. Forcing herself to heed Noah's words of wisdom and confessed to everything. Her father showed up to be there for her as well as Emma were brought back in to fill in the blanks. In the end it was really to save Audrey's skin. Assuring again and again that in the end Audrey had simply been a pawn to two killers. That she wasn't the one who had brought Piper to Lakewood. That her not coming forward about Jake and Eddie's deaths was out of fear. After being tortured and taunted by Kieran. They filled in everything they knew. Everything Kieran had confessed to and everything they thought might have happened. That Kieran most likely were Rachel's killer because of her video tape of him with Nina the day before she was murdered.

It took a few hours. They were allowed breaks, but Acosta insisted on doing most of it that day. When it was finally over Maggie decided to take Emma home with her. Noah had been called in to speak with Acosta as well which left Audrey alone to return to the room with a nurse only to find the lone occupant of her hospital room finally awake.

"Brooke..."


	5. Panic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things turns dark for Audrey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay hey look I got plot ideas after posting last night so I wrote some more to post tonight. It's not the longest chapter, but it will have to do for now. This story is turning out much longer than I first intended haha.  
> As it turns out Emma's not the only who's reached her breaking point. Audrey might need some cuddles right now XD Oh and someone else is finally awake!

She must have looked horrible if the look on Brooke's face was anything to go by. The girl that once had been a complete stranger to her. The complete opposite of her and just another bitch in Nina's gang. The girl that had turned out to have a heart of gold despite the company she had found herself in. By all means there were nothing that would have predicted that Audrey would become friends with Brooke Maddox yet here they were.   
Audrey wasn't sure if she could take more emotions right now and luck should have it that Stavo decided to show up right then with some water for Brooke.   
"I'm glad you're... alive," Audrey said, clearly struggling to keep her composure and before Brooke or the nurse could say anything she was out of there. Wandering down the halls just to get out of there hoping to find a lone room. Noah was still in the meeting with the Sheriff when he saw Audrey walk past looking incredibly distressed. One glance at the Sheriff and Noah was out the door to follow her,  
"Audrey! Audrey what's wrong?" he only had to put a hand on her back to realize she struggling. Sweat making her shirt stick to her skin.   
She didn't answer so he pushed her into a vacated room and closed the door after them,  
"Audrey look at me, you're panicking," he brushed her hair from her face and she immediately latched onto his forearms.  
"I confessed to everything. Every little thing. Like you told me to," she inhaled deeply and Noah continued to brush the sweaty bangs from her face while she ranted, her eyes never seeming to settle on anything in particular,  
"I should have told them sooner. About Jake. I should have... I allowed all that to happen to Brooke. I told Piper about Rachel. If I hadn't done that there would have been no reason for Kieran to hunt her down for that video tape. I could as well have put a bullseye on her."

There were no point in trying to reason with her when she was in this mindset. He had seen her near breaking point before when she lost Emma. When she got the news of her Mother's cancer. Words were always useless. Trying to convince someone in that state of mind that everything would be fine was hilariously impossible.  
"You need to cool down before you pass out, Audrey," Noah said, moving a hand down to her neck to feel the pounding pulse. The way she scrunched up her face and gritted her teeth he bet her head pounding as well. He wasn't wrong about where this would be heading. She started to sag and he was right there to keep her upright. Slipping an arm under her knees he carried her out of the room,  
"I need some help here!" he called out, seeing Sheriff Acosta coming out the door as he passed,  
"Couldn't have waited with the hearing until she got better could you?" he asked, entering Brooke and Audrey's room and went straight to the free bed.  
"Audrey? What happened to her?" Brooke tried to push herself up a little until Stavo stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. She wasn't offered any answers as she watched Noah place Audrey on the bed and tried to rouse her without luck until some nurses came into the room to care for her.

* * *

The next time Audrey opened her eyes she was in a hospital bed with an IV drip inserted into her arm and Noah asleep on the other.

"The hell-" she mumbled, flexing her hand before looking around in confusion.  
"You passed out. Panic attack or something," a feminine voice said from the other bed in the room. Except from the lights from the halls and the muted TV the room was otherwise dark, but Audrey could see some of Brooke's blond hair when she turned her head.   
"Oh," she swallowed and looked down at Noah again. Noah had his head on her hand while it was turned towards the TV which she assumed he had tried to watch to pass the time.   
"Are you okay?" Brooke asked. Her voice weary, but so genuine it made Audrey's chest tighten again. She really didn't deserve this kindness.  
"I should be asking that," Audrey pointed out.  
"Well I beat you to it," Brooke shrugged,  
"I've been stabbed before. Should be getting used to it at this point."  
"That's dark," Audrey muttered, sneaking her hand out from under Noah's head so she could brush her fingers gently through his hair. Neither said anything for a few minutes, but Audrey knew Brooke was still awake as she kept shifting on the bed trying to get comfortable,  
"I'm sorry about your fa-"  
"Don't," Brooke quickly cut her off and Audrey visibly flinched,  
"I can't think of that. Not now,» she turned her head towards Audrey, realizing the panic attack she had suffered was most likely a result of everything she had gone through,  
"I know you didn't do it. I... have so many questions, but... For later. Okay?"  
"Okay," Audrey understood. She would answer all the questions for when that time came too. No matter how hard it would be. It was time for her to owe up to what she had done.


	6. Week of Mourning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The killings are over, what is left are a handful of funerals to go through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the plot idea that popped into my head was a roadtrip! I don't even know why, but I've got more invested into the story than intended so yeah. We'll see where this goes. I'm not even sure yet ;D   
> This chapter is starting to timejump a little as the goal is now to get these guys off on the road, but at the same time I wanted to honor the fact that there would be funerals to deal with.  
> So, let's give Brooke in particular a hug after this yeah?

"I want to go see my mum," Audrey said the next day. Seated on the bed together with Noah while he made she sure ate something and drank a whole lot of water,  
"I just want to get away from here. While I can still see her," she explained, poking a piece of chicken with her fork before eating it, even making a point to show it off to Noah that she doing as he wished.   
"I get that, but is it really the time? You suffer from a concussion and there's a funeral for Jake tomorrow," he explained. Then following day a funeral for Haley which he didn't really plan on going to since none of the Lakewood survivors had been particularly fond of her. Not to mention he doubted any of them would be welcome anyway, but Zoe's funeral would be soon too and that he had to go to.  
"Obviously I don't plan on walking out the door right _now_ , but... Maybe in a week or so," she said, offering the rest of the chicken to Noah when she couldn't get herself to eat more. She laid back down against the pillows and rested her hands on her finally well fed belly.  
"If you're going to leave Lakewood I want to come with you. I mean, not to keep an eye on you-" he paused when she raised an eyebrow at him,  
"Not to _just_ keep an eye on you then, but... a break from Murderville might actually do some good."

Brooke had caught bits of the conversation and even while healing from a stab wound she already announced she wanted to come along too. Seeing as they wouldn't leave just yet anyway. It started to sound more like a road trip and honestly Audrey didn't know what to think of it. She loved her friends, but with the mistakes she had done her first instinct was to isolate herself. Run away almost, but seeing how close she was getting to Noah she was starting to think that wasn't going to happen. Especially if Emma too truly wanted to start over again.   
That same day Audrey checked herself out of the hospital after her father had reluctantly agreed to it. Staying home would at least be more entertaining than the hospital since going back to school was not an option right now for any of them except for perhaps Stavo.   
On the following day – the day of Jake's funeral she was being slow. As if she were waiting for a reason to come up that would keep her from having to go. She would regret it for the rest of her life if she didn't go to pay her last respect to the boy she had failed to honor the first time around when she discovered his body. Even Brooke fought tooth and nail to get to go and while she wasn't happy about it she was eventually let go just for a few hours as long as she stayed in a wheelchair.

"You look better," Noah said after knocking once on Audrey's bedroom door. She was wearing the one black dress she had that was way short for her liking so she had pulled on some black tights and her favorite boots to feel more comfortable. She would be caught dead in high heels. Neither did she own a pair so she didn't bother making a problem out of nothing.  
"As in I look _almost_ presentable?" she asked, rubbing at her neck awkwardly when he came over and kissed her cheek.  
"Very much so," Noah smiled. What they wore would turn out to be the least of their problems. The first ten minutes of the funeral went alright up until Jake's parents saw Emma and Audrey and told them they weren't welcome here. Both girls took that hard, but didn't stay around long enough to cause a scene. Audrey was tempted to argue their right to be there at least on Emma's behalf, but she was pulled away before it got that far.  
"This plan on leaving Lakewood is getting more and more tempting with each day," Emma said out by the parking lot, arms crossed under her chest while she tried her best to keep a straight face. Audrey nodded, leaning against Emma's car as they waited for Noah, Brooke and Gustavo to come once the funeral was over. Neither had wanted to ruin their chances are a last goodbye to their friend just because the two of them weren't welcome.  
"So I take it the whole gang plans on coming along then," Audrey said, sliding an arm around Emma's shoulders to offer her support. Of course Emma had heard of Audrey's panic attack the other day, but looking at her now she couldn't help wonder how she was able to keep that mask on. As if nothing bothered her.   
"You don't mind do you?" Emma asked, leaning against her car as well and dropped her head against Audrey's shoulder,  
"Honestly I would probably just spend the time worrying about you if you went alone," she smiled a little despite their depressing situation. Audrey tightened her hold around Emma,  
«Not really. I mean, it's not really a joyride since I'm seeing my mum nearing the last stages of cancer, but maybe that's exactly why you coming along would be a good thing."  
Emma lifted her head a little to look at Audrey,  
"From now on we're in this together. We've both messed up big time. I'm more than ready to be on your side again."  
"I like that," Audrey muttered. At least with that knowledge there was a tiny light of hope still burning.

The very next day Haley's funeral turned out to bed a truly tragic affair. Ever since she was murdered at the party it had been widely suggested that the 'secret friend' she was helping to arrange the party had been the killer itself and therefore only her closest friends and family showed up. Most of the school accused her of helping Kieran. None of the remaining Lakewood Six went, but there were no denying that despite butting heads with the girl it was a tragic end to a young life.  
Zoe's parents were more forgiving and while Emma and Audrey ended up not going despite having been declared innocent regarding the murders ,Noah and Brooke both went. By then Brooke was well enough to move about without the wheelchair. The following day would be her father's funeral too and she kept her head high. She had to. If she started wavering now she wasn't sure she would be able to move on.   
The new Lakewood Five was all there for her and Gustavo started the heavy day by making her juice from the bottom of just like her father used to.  
 _Thank you_ , was more or less the only thing she said that day. Well meaning condolences from both strangers, friends or associates of the Major got old pretty quickly. It was all she could muster anyway. She was more genuine towards her friends that would spend the whole day with her. Doing what they could do keep her busy, entertained and comforted. The very last thing Brooke did for her father was to remove her favorite necklace to give him a part of her. It wasn't much, but while they had had a troubled relationship there was that one thing she needed him to know even now that he was gone...  
" _I love you, dad_."

 

 

 


	7. Preperations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Audrey and Noah prepare for the roadtrip to Boston.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all - this chapter contains some mild sexual content. It's very mild really and not even actual sex. Just... make out session, but better safe than sorry right? So I've updated the warnings and additional tags on the story.
> 
> Okay so Lakewood is a fictional town, but according to some fans it might be located somewhere in Colorado. That's just wild guessing, but I'm just going to roll with it so I have something to compare to in regards of how long it would take to drive from there to Boston.

Zoe's funeral left Audrey feeling rather awkward and almost bad. She hadn't really liked the girl and that was very much a mutual feeling. But it was over and Noah had been quite understandable about her wish of wanting a day or two alone from everyone but her father. After a long week and a half of mourning and avoiding people of Lakewood in general Audrey was packed and ready to leave for Boston the following morning. Her father had given her directions and advices before he had left ahead after a bit of convincing that she'd be okay.  
That evening Noah came by to stay over, bringing a pizza with him and left his bags by the door.  
"You know, after this week I wouldn't mind if I never saw Lakewood again," Noah admitted after having put on a movie and dropped onto the couch next to Audrey.  
"What about the Morgue?" she asked, enjoying the pizza more than any other food in a long time. Pulling her legs up under her and getting herself very comfortable.  
"Oh if I were to move I'd bring it with me of course. Can't just leave the fans hanging for too long," he smiled, his heart fluttering a bit when Audrey actually returned the smile. Now that was the first one he had seen since... Well, in too long.  
"What are we doing?" Audrey asked, hiding half her face with a pizza slice. The question took Noah by surprise since both of them had been avoiding really talking about or labeling it.  
"Well I don't know about you, but I'm eating pizza-"  
"Goddamnit Noah," Audrey snorted despite herself.  
"Sorry," Noah smiled bashfully,  
"I don't know? Starting something new?"  
"Starting everything anew sounds like something we all need," Audrey agreed and they seemed to silently agree to leave it on that. It wasn't as if they were in any hurry to understand what they were doing anyway.

They didn't really finish the movie. Neither of them really able to focus on it much longer besides they were supposed to get an early start in the morning afterall. Audrey checked every door and window to make sure everything was secure before heading upstairs after Noah who had already changed into his PJ's. She stepped into the bathroom to finish up too before joining Noah in her bed.  
"Don't hog the covers," she warned, almost vanishing under the covers as she wrapped her arms around Noah's waist to get closer.  
"Can't promise anything," he smiled down at her. Placing a kiss on the tip of her nose and then on her lips. What was really just meant as a goodnight kiss ended up in a rather deep one. She moved her hand up to his neck instead and somewhere along the way he rolled her onto her back. The deep kisses didn't pause even as his hand sneaked in under her shirt. His fingers ghosting over her belly, making her smile against his lips much like the other day. She kissed him again only to gasp as his hand had found itself to one of her breasts and he paused everything he was doing.  
"You're not wearing a bra," he whispered, his eyes comically wide as it was really starting to dawn on him how intimate this was. Audrey seemed less shocked by it all, but highly amused by his reaction,  
"It's not very comfortable to sleep in," she shrugged, lifting her head to give him a quick kiss,  
"What? You're acting as if you've never touched some before," she said, not really wanting to know exactly how things went down with Zoe. His expression said everything though. Even after his time with Zoe...  
"Really? Wow. I don't know if I should feel honored or not," she enjoyed teasing him since he looked rather adorable when he got flustered like this. Lifting her own hand she covered his through her shirt,  
"I don't mind," she assured with a kiss and it seemed to be all he needed to move his hand a little more to please her. He was sweet to her. Not that she had expected anything from Noah, but even with the curious hand he didn't push it and the kisses remained innocent.  
They agreed that nothing more than that would happen that night so soon after they were curled up and fell asleep.

When Noah woke up the next morning Audrey was gone from the bed. He rolled out of bed and walked over to the window, relieved to see Audrey dumping their bags on the lawn which could only mean Brooke must be near. They had all agreed on taking Brooke's big car rather than two cars to save money on gas. As it turned out it was Gustavo who came out behind the wheel and Noah was pretty sure none had told him he was coming along. Not that he minded. He liked Stavo and another guy on the trip was more than welcome.  
"I hope you don't mind," Brooke whispered to Audrey as she came over to help her with the bags,  
"He has been a lot of help through this whole thing. I like to have him by my side," she explained, but Audrey just shook her head.  
"It's alright, Brooke. I get it really and you are **not** lifting anything," Audrey refused her help and took the bag she had tried to take,  
"Just because you're out of hospital doesn't mean you should do everything to irritate your wound."  
Brooke rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, eying a smaller bag as if she was planning to take it once Audrey wasn't looking. Emma beat her to it though and snagged it up,  
"I agree with Audrey. You should relax," she grinned.  
"What is this? Gang up on Brooke day?" Brooke asked, groaning when both her girls nodded at her with cheeky, little smiles. Noah finished up quickly inside since Audrey had taken his bags too, joining them with a fresh smile on his lips as he joined his friends,  
"Hola amigos!" he grinned and pulled a rather confused looking Brooke into a hug before handing Stavo a piece of paper.  
"What's this?" Stavo unraveled the paper while Noah started to explain.  
"If we're following my calculations the drive to Boston will take around thirty hours, give or take. If we drive about eight hours a day we got four stops along the road," to his surprise the others listened rather than dismissed him. Audrey finished shoving their last bags into the back of the car before going over to join Emma by the backseat doors.  
"Alright sounds about right," Brooke nodded and pulled a few papers out of the glove department,  
"I've been looking for motels and hotels for the road as well as in Boston. You can check it out on the way," she suggested.  
"Good. Are we ready then?" Emma asked from where she was seated in the backseat with her legs hanging out, her arm resting over Audrey's shoulder and sunglasses resting on the tip of her nose. Noah grinned as he pulled his phone out to snap a photo of them with Brooke in the passenger's seat and Stavo on the other side,  
"Alright awesome. Hey, can I drive?"  
"Forget it. Get in," Stavo snorted and set his sunglasses back in place before getting in behind the wheel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really want to write more of Brooke and Stavo as well, but since I haven't before I'm a wee bit... cautious? I'll attempt some stuff now that they're on the road though. Offers me more chances to actually do something with them.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! Again thank you so much for the kudos, the hits and the comments =) I love you all <3


	8. On the Road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The new Lakewood Five is finally on the road to Boston.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a pretty Noah and Stavo heavy chapter so let's see how that works out ;D
> 
> Hope you're all having a great weekend!

"I know half the time you've said it to annoy me, but you guys need to stop saying ' _I'll be right back_ '," Noah eyed Audrey in particular who was chewing on her thumb to keep her smile down. Brooke sighed and turned in her seat to look at Noah with narrowing eyes,  
"Noah, give it a rest. You're putting Stavo to sleep here and we need him to drive."  
Audrey chuckled and patted his thigh to show some kind of support,  
"We get it, Noah. No ' _splitting up_ ', no ' _having sex_ ', don't ' _participate any parties_ ' and no ' _I'll be right back_ '. We'll work on it," she assured, supported by Emma giving a nod – possibly just so Noah would be done with his list of things they had done wrong the past weeks.  
"You forgot ' _Don't assume texts from your girlfriend to be from your girlfriend_ '," Emma yawned and checked the clock. On the road for five hours now. Still a few to go for their first stop for the night.  
"And who walked into that trap?" Audrey asked and Noah sighed, holding his hand up for a nano second.  
"Never said I didn't make mistakes," he folded the paper together as both Emma and Audrey on either side of him leaned on his shoulders.  
"Oh there's a Walmart up ahead. Let's stop there. I need food," Brooke said, nudging Stavo's arm to make him aware of the plans she had made for them.

Not five minutes later the group of five split up to hunt down things they needed, wanted and really didn't need at all. Emma, Brooke and Audrey with a shared cart looking for what they needed – food and drinks while Noah and Gustavo went off on their own.  
"Look. Crayons," Noah wiggled a pack of crayons between his fingers resulting in one hell of a bitch face from Stavo,  
"Do you ever do your art the old fashioned way?" he asked, putting the crayons back as they continued down the row of shelves, occasionally taking things with them into their baskets.  
"Sure, but using the pad is easier to bring around rather than have a bunch of papers flying around. I do that when I'm home," Stavo explained.  
"Makes sense I guess," Noah nodded, coming to a stop when they reached the medical health care department. Picking at a few sunscreens before deciding for one then while he was at it put some band aids in his casket too. Only then did he noticed Stavo on the other side of the low shelf looking at him with a deadpanned look on his face,  
"What? I burn and bruise easily. Never hurts to be prepared," Noah defended which brought a great smile on Stavo's face.  
"Can't argue that, but speaking of being prepared," he looked at something on the shelf in front of him which was out of sight for Noah who waited in anticipation before Stavo held up a package of condoms.  
"Wh- What am I supposed to do with that?" he asked, none too smoothly. Figuring Stavo and Brooke having become close enough to need that sure, but for Noah's naive mind he'd never would have thought of buying that again anytime soon.  
"You and Audrey?" Stavo asked, dropping a chosen package in the basket. When the only answer he got from Noah reminded him of a fish out of water he rolled his eyes and moved on from the health department,  
"This is where you vehemently deny anything going on between you."  
He left _it_ **and** Noah at that with a smug smile on his lips. Noah followed eventually, leaving that department empty. Stavo's teasing was amusing alright, but condoms wasn't an option.

"I've never bought clothes on Walmart before," Brooke said, mostly to herself as she looked through a few shirts on coat hangers with a slight grimace on her face,  
"And I understand why now. Ugh, I sound like a rich bitch," she crossed her arms as she walked away from the clothes to where Audrey and Emma were deciding on some cookies, candy, food and so on.  
"Well you are rich," Emma teased.  
"But I've taken over the bitch title this year," Audrey assure her which actually brought a little smile to Brooke's lips. It wasn't something Audrey was proud of, but it was something she could work on.  
"There's a bitch in all of us, girls," Brooke shrugged, perking up seeing a row of make up supplies. Audrey sighed, leaning heavily on their cart as she moved along the shelves. She was nearing the cash registers by the time she looked back and realized she had left Emma and Brooke somewhere.  
"You look a little lost. You've ditched the others?" Noah asked, coming up next to her, placing his casket in the almost empty cart.  
"Ah a friendly face," Audrey grinned, bumping her fist against Noah like they used to do,  
"Actually I just started rolling and didn't stop before I got here. What did you do to Stavo? Did he get on your nerves too?" she teased, leaving the cart long enough to venture off to a shelf of games which caught Noah's attention too.  
"Unlike you I actually like Stavo, remember?" he chuckled,  
"No way! They got Nintendo 64 games," he gasped like a child on Christmas morning, picking up a game and showed Audrey,  
"Remember that Christmas we spent a whole weekend finishing this?" he laughed when Audrey groaned and covered her face with her hands.  
"Too vividly. You beat my ass with it," she recalled.  
"And don't you forget it," Noah smiled proudly, reluctantly putting the game back since he didn't have any use of it.  
"How about we get out of here huh?"


	9. Redemption

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Lakewood 4+1's roadtrip is well on the way and Audrey and Brooke finally have a talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got a little prompt earlier that I've been working on that I'll post later which is one of the reasons why I decided to update this now. Been delaying a longer convo between Brooke and Audrey simply because I tried to figure out how she might feel about the whole secret Audrey had about Jake's death. So I've simply based it on how she acts in the finale. Kind of awkward, but not completely cold towards Audrey + given she has already lost a lot and almost two weeks has passed for her to think over this.  
> Also these convos aren't always easy since if I were to write them all in depth it'd all be the same over and over which would in the end be so boring XD So I hope this works!

"Oh what's this?" Brooke sneaked up behind Stavo, peeking into the basket he was holding,  
"Someone's optimistic," she smiled as she took a closer look at the pack of condoms,  
"Not to be a party pooper, but I'm not sure how much fun I'd be in bed after over a week in hospital," she reminded him, looping her arm through his as they walked after Emma to the cashier's stand.  
"Doubting my ability to care for you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow which had her laugh and rub his arm while shaking her head.  
"Okay so Audrey and Noah are already by the car. Hurry up will you?" Emma told them,  
"I'd like to reach the motel today."

They made a few more stops on the road trip, but otherwise it went uneventful. Emma took over the wheel at some point with Audrey in the passenger's seat leaving Noah in the backseat with Brooke and Stavo occasionally snuggling next to him.  
The motel itself was decent. Boring, but decent. They were only there for the night so it didn't matter that it was in the middle of nowhere. The second day passed pretty much the same way, but the motel they reached this time was located outside a small town and looked pretty nice. Allowing the little group to actually make something out of the evening.  
"A tight squeeze, but there's a porch. I like it," Noah grinned after inspecting the room. It didn't allow any of them privacy since they were all crammed into the same room to save money, but it didn't really bother them. If anything they had a great time with some junk food and beers at the room that night.  
"Just how much trouble would you be in with your dad if he saw you now?" Brooke asked, seated on one of the beds with her head on Audrey's lap and an empty bottle of beer in her hand.  
"Hmm let's see. He grounded me for making out with my girlfriend, then I was arrested because of my DNA in a mass murderer's mask and then there were that time we all got high at the party. Don't even get me started on everything else I've done," Audrey sighed, taking a much needed sip of her bottle,  
"This right here is nothing. Of course, what he doesn't know doesn't hurt him," she warned, glancing at everyone in the room. Brooke rubbed her belly over the bandage and snickered,  
"I don't think I'm supposed to be drinking alcohol yet," she changed the subject in which Audrey was grateful for.  
"Alright how about we get you some air?" Audrey got up off the bed and pulled Brooke up with her. Noah was occupied with something on his laptop while Emma sat next to Stavo looking at some of his art. Even some of the sicker ones, allowing him to explain them.

Their room was on second floor so Audrey lead Brooke with her to the stairs so they could sit at the top of them, the occasional car passing the motel to an unknown destination,  
"How do you feel?" Audrey asked, keeping a protective eye at Brooke who seemed better already.  
"Oh I'm fine. Probably shouldn't drink more anytime soon though. The air helped," she assured, looking at Audrey in a way that made it obvious she was trying to figure out a way to say what had been on her mind ever since she had seen the video Kieran had hacked the Morgue with.  
"How long did you know about Jake?" Brooke asked and Audrey closed her eyes. She had known it was coming and she wanted nothing to do but to run from it, but she had some growing up to do.  
"A little more than a day," she answered, resting her elbows on her legs and rested her face in her hands,  
" **He** warned me not to tell anyone about it. I would have at some point, but then... **_that_** happened," she explained, _'that_ ' obviously being the traumatizing moment on stage with his body falling from above,  
"I'm so sorry, Brooke. It's unforgivable of me, but I was terrified. I wasn't thinking straight and I was a damn coward," she whispered, digging her fingers into her skull until she felt Brooke rest her head against her shoulder.  
"I wish you had told me. I mean, you thought you brought Piper to Lakewood and I get it. It looked bad. Really bad, but... maybe lives could have been saved if you had said something sooner," the blond said, her heart breaking for Audrey when she noticed how she was digging her fingers into her skull in a way that really had to hurt,  
"But I don't know what I would have done if I had been in that situation. I'm sure I would have been terrified just like you were."

A few tears ran down Audrey's cheeks as she felt the other clutch at her plaid shirt. She was so forgiving. So understanding despite what had happened to her and it made Audrey all the more sick of herself for her actions.  
"Audrey, look at me," Brooke pulled gently at her hands so she could see her face and once she did she wiped the tears on Audrey's cheeks with the sleeve of her shirt,  
"You're not unredeemable," she said, not used to seeing the other like this,  
"I'd like to think there's redemption for all who truly wants it."


	10. Morningbirds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma and Brooke have a heart to heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 10... when did that happen haha. This is all playing like a movie in my head that I want to see, but to get to see it I have to write. Which is why I've been writing a loooot lately. Maybe I write better if I put myself on a loose deadline. Never worked with homework, but then again... homework was never fun :P
> 
> Enjoy! Hell, let me know what you think. Comments and constructive criticism is always welcome. Then I'd know what I do good and what could be better, but really. It makes my day to see that people are actually reading this. So thank you =)

That night Brooke shared one of the beds with Emma while Audrey and Noah had the other. Stavo got the collapsible bed and was perfectly fine with that even after having to assure Emma it really didn't bother him. Audrey fell asleep that night with her fingers entwined with Noah's and kept it close to her chest as he slept behind her.  
"You think I was hard on her when I first heard her confession?" Emma asked Brooke, eventually taking her eyes off the sleeping form of her childhood friend. Brooke didn't answer at first, considering the question before meeting Emma's gaze.  
"No. She should have told you. The way she handled things was rather selfish and just made things worse, but she knows this. I genuinely believe she wants to make up for her mistakes. After everything that has happened to her. After how Nina treated her... It doesn't justify what she did, but I get it. There's only so much a young girl can take before she starts to crack. If we can't recognize ourselves in that..." she trailed off, rolling onto her side to face Emma.  
"Then there's something wrong with us too," Emma nodded. They couldn't just forget about the good sides Audrey had too though. That's why they loved her so much to begin with. Despite her selfish acts both Emma and Brooke had seen with their own eyes how Audrey would undoubtedly give her own life for them or was at the very least protective of those she loved.  
"I'm glad we've remained friends through this," Brooke eventually broke the silence again and Emma looked surprised at her friend's words.  
"Why wouldn't we have been?" Emma asked, resting her hand over Brooke's.  
"Well I haven't exactly been an angel in all of this either. I was too scared to stand up to Nina. I did nothing with the challenge between her and Will regarding you-" to Brooke's surprise Emma smiled and shook her head.  
"Come on, Brooke. You've changed a lot too. You're not some rich bimbo who only cares for yourself. You've actually made an effort to change too. People will think back at Nina and remember this terribly manipulative bitch, but you've shown so much heart no one outside our group had seen before. They'll remember you for so much more," Emma assured, having Brooke in tears and shifting closer into her friend's arms.

The next morning Audrey was the first one up. Tip toeing through the room so not to wake anyone up. She tried to fix her hair, but having left hair products at home there weren't much she could really do about the wild mop of black hair right now. She pulled off the messy look pretty well anyway so she had settled for brushing her teeth when Noah joined her,  
"You're up early," Noah commented, taking his own toothbrush. Both watching the other in the reflection until Audrey started cracking up a little.  
"Stop it," she warned, nudging him with her hip,  
"I haven't put on make up yet."  
That had Noah roll his eyes,  
"Yeah as if I haven't seen you on your worst before. You don't need make up to look good."  
"Smooth," Audrey smiled, spitting out the toothpaste and spit before packing down her stuff. Noah packed down his stuff too before giving her a kiss on the cheek which seemed to be a thing he had started with that she quite enjoyed,  
"Just saying what I think," he smiled and was about to leave when she stopped him with a hand on his elbow.  
"Thank you. For being so kind to me. I don't understand how any of you bother to keep me around after everything, but it means the world to me," she told him and kissed him for a change,  
"I'm hungry."

With that she left the room followed by a flabbergasted Noah,  
"I feel like you end a discussion with being hungry a little too often, Audrey," he pointed out as he followed her outside, catching up with her easily before reaching the stairs.  
"I'm a hungry girl. You should know that before getting too involved with me," she reminded him,  
"I'm sure we have some crap left from Walmart in the car."  
Sure enough they found some crackers in the car which didn't really make much of a breakfast, but it quieted down the hunger for a little while at least. Sitting against the open trunk next to one another Audrey leaned lightly on Noah's shoulder and curled her hand around his,  
"How are you doing? Like, none of this 'I'm fine' bullshit I keep using," Audrey asked, eyes watching the door to their motel room open up to reveal their three friends being up and about as well now.  
"Honestly, I don't know. Like, I'm alright considering, but I've been better?" he answered honestly,  
"Not sure how to explain it. Maybe numb. Only thing really grounding me right now are you guys," he said straightened a bit as the others seemed to finish up in the room.  
"I understand. I think," Audrey nodded, reluctantly letting go of his hand in favor of helping Brooke with some bags she was carrying.  
"Damnit Brooke. What did I tell you about straining yourself?" she groaned and hurried over to the bottom of the stairs to relieve her.  
"Oh I don't know I wasn't really listening," she quipped cheekily, going straight for the glove department when Audrey took the bags from her,  
"Anyway guys the next motel is even better. Been looking forward to this. Look," she paused by Noah and Audrey showing some photos from the upcoming motel. Located in the middle of a small town, decent price which would allow them two rooms, breakfast and a pool.  
"It is a nine hour drive though so the sooner we get on the road the more time we get to spend there," Brooke explained, clapping her hands to get Stavo and Emma's attention,  
"Hurry guys! Let's get this bitch rolling," she snickered eagerly.  
"Did she just say that?" Noah raised an eyebrow as Brooke climbed into the passenger's seat.  
"And without a drop of caffeine in her," Emma chuckled as she joined them. They got in the car for about ten minutes before stopping by a small bakery in the town to get some food in them which they ate in the car. The rest of the day was rather boring. As much as they enjoyed a good road trip nine hours in a car did take it's toll on them. It did earn them a little over thirty minutes longer than expected in the new town with the fancy-ish motel though.  
"Okay this is good. Tonight I say we'll eat a good dinner," Emma suggested and not a single soul would disagree with that.


	11. Brooke's lil' Secret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The friends enjoy their time in a new town and reconnect in various ways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ended up shorter than intended since the next chapter mainly focuses on Audrey and Noah enjoying some alone time and it just didn't fit into this one without getting too long.

"Would it be improper to make a toast?" Noah asked by the dinner table.  
"Depends," Audrey warned though all of them lifted they glasses of either beer or wine.  
"For those we lost?" he suggested, something they all saw fitting. They remained silent for a little minute before Brooke would allow them to get too heavy at heart. She certainly made an effort not to think too much of what she had lost and how much she missed her father and Jake. Ever since their funerals she had shed a good amount of tears for them especially during the night.  
"Okay so what does this town have to offer," Emma asked, stabbing her food with a fork while looking at Brooke. After looking through a list of things that place had to offer the girls decided to check out the little mall they had there and do some shopping if they had some luck. Noah and Gustavo did the same, but went to different stores than the girls.  
The girls were the first to return to the motel. Brooke with a small secret bag while Emma and Audrey just had a bag with something to snack on and drink at the motel.  
"Hey, you think it's okay if I share one of the rooms with Stavo tonight?" Brooke asked, trying to seem as casual about it as possible, but both her girls understood just why.  
"Yeah sure. Just... don't break anything," Audrey teased. Brooke winked before hooking her hands through Audrey's and Emma's arms as they walked.

The rooms were on first floor and next to each other and Brooke had been right about it being a nice one. While one side lead right to the parking lot, the other side had a small porch and the pool right on the outside of that. They stayed in one room together for now though so Brooke could try out her new 'secret' and show the girls, receiving well earned whistles from the others,  
"You think Stavo will like it?" she asked, strutting her stuff.  
"Unless he's gay or blind there's no way he's going to not like that," Audrey promised, throwing her feet up on the bed next to Emma.  
"Are you flirting with me now?" Brooke asked.  
"Just a little," Audrey winked, making the two others laugh.  
"Well then I call this a win then," Brooke snickered, pulling on her clothes on top of the new ones just in time for Noah and Stavo to enter.  
"You are coming with me," Brooke said, patting Stavo on the chest as she walked to the door they had just walked through. When Stavo looked at her with a raised eyebrow she sighed and let one shoulder slide down to reveal a mostly bare shoulder and a scantily clad breast,  
"Just thought you might be interested in something I bought at 'Victoria's Secret'," she said, looking so innocently as she pulled her jacket back up. He didn't need much more convicing than that,  
"See you later?" he looked at Noah as he headed to the door.  
"Don't count on it, boy," Brooke grinned as she leaned up to kiss him, closing the door behind them before making it into the room next door.

"They're gonna do it, aren't they?" Noah sighed, looking from the door to the two girls on the bed.  
"You can bet on it," Audrey said without much interest as she flicked through the channels while Emma was busy picking out the things they had bought to eat.  
"Any room for me there?" he asked, kicking off his shoes and jumped on the bed and sneaked in between the girls when they welcomed him with open arms. They found a film on one of the channels and settled for that, turning the volume when the sounds from next door was getting a bit hard to ignore.  
"Gee. How loud can they get?" Emma snorted when the unmistakable sound of Brooke moaning became impossible to ignore. In the end the trio couldn't help laughing amongst themselves since the awkwardness was getting the better of them. Audrey started channel surfing again once the movie was over, unimpressed when two different Adam Sandler movies were being shown - and neither one being from his golden era,  
"As if we need that," she yawned, settling on a music channel while she moved around until her head was resting in Emma's lap and her legs laid over Noah's.  
"Someone is making themselves feel at home," Emma chuckled, trying to make little braids in the longer parts of Audrey's hair. Audrey wiggled her feet and grinned at the other two,  
"Are you going to kick me off the bed?" she asked, using the puppy eyes on Noah which always worked in her advantage.  
They spent another hour or two chatting amongst themselves and Noah explained how he had started to work on a new transcript for the Morgue, wanting their input on certain things. Their noisy neighbors went quiet after a while so they decided to hit the pillows as well once it was dark outside.


	12. Romancing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Audrey and Noah has some intimate alone time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter contains mild sexual content.
> 
> Still no sex scene, but they are being far more intimate than before and there's top half nudity here. I call it sexy fluff lol (I'm personally not very into smut). Or at least I hope you don't find anything off putting haha. It's basically OTP needing and deserving some good time.

This time Emma had gotten her own bed while Noah and Audrey gladly shared one. Noah was woken up at around four in the morning by a hand gently covering his mouth,  
"Sssh. Come," Audrey whispered in the dark. The outlines of her visible against the dark blue sky outside. She tugged on his hand and though he was sleepy and confused he slid out of bed after her towards the porch.  
"Hey, I'm only wearing boxers," Noah reminded Audrey who had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing.  
"You don't need more where we're going," she whispered before very carefully sliding open the door so not to wake Emma.  
"Easy for you to say. You're wearing shorts and shirt," he pointed out, following her out into the quiet night and the very free pool. He didn't complain more seeing where this was going. She looked around to make sure they were alone before she slid into the pool while Noah took a little longer. Once he was in though he got Audrey's shirt right in his face, pulling it off and onto the pool side,  
"Now we're wearing just as much," she whispered in his ear as she wrapped her arms around his neck and he became very aware of the fact that she was indeed topless too.  
"Oh you're really going to be the death of me, Audrey," he smiled almost nervously, starting to believe he was dreaming right now. There were a while when getting together with Zoe he had convinced himself it was just a little crush he had evolved for Audrey, but considering the effect she had on him right now there were no doubt in his mind that he really loved her.  
"Oh don't say that. I kind of like you," Audrey smiled, pressing her chest against his and kissed him.  
"I kind of like you too," he returned the smile in true Noah fashion, sliding his hands up her back. It was strange to feel so much skin on skin with Audrey and with the way his heart was pounding in his chest he was pretty sure she could feel it too. It was undoubtedly a good kind of strange.  
"I'm dreaming right?" he asked, causing Audrey to bite down on his bottom lip.  
"So cheesy," she snorted in amusement,  
"Is it bothering you?" she asked, pulling herself up a little closer to him. She was hardly used to being this bold regarding nudity herself especially when there was a risk of someone coming by. If someone did walk in on them at least she could hide her chest by staying against him.  
"Bothering me? You're intoxicating," he admitted as he kissed her, sliding his hands down her back again with a little bit of nail. Causing her to gasp against his lips and smile.

It was very different from Zoe. To the point where he couldn't compare the two. He had genuinely cared for Zoe. Been heartbroken when she died. But being with Audrey now he couldn't help wonder if he had been fair to Zoe. She was just as fun as Zoe if not more, but he had something deeper with Audrey. Certainly not _just_ a crush.  
"And we're not even high this time," Audrey smiled mostly to herself as she dipped her hand in the water to bring it up to his shoulders so it would run down his skin.  
"You've been working out behind my back?" she asked, playfully squeezing his upper arm, making him smile widely against her cheek.  
"Are you hitting on me?" he asked, knowing she was just humoring him since he by all means wasn't fit - not the same way the jocks at school was anyway. Maybe just a little more than before Piper rolled into town. His hand pressed against her back and his fingers just barely touched the side of her breast. This intimacy was really starting to get to him.  
"You're the second person asking me this today," Audrey told him, biting down on her bottom lip when she felt his curious hand exploring her chest area,  
"I already got you right here so why would I hit on you?"  
"Ey who else have you been hitting on?" he asked.  
"Brooke. Apparently," she shrugged, being very casual about it.  
"Really? Should I be worried?" he grinned, watching her while he dipped his hand in the water before dragging it back up along her ribs like she had done to him.  
"I don't know. I'm half naked in a pool with you. _Should_ you be worried?" she asked back, receiving a deep kiss as an answer.

"Well look at you two," a voice took them by surprise and Audrey instinctively wrapped her other arm back around his neck to cover herself,  
"Here I'm used to you two being adorable and then you go and do this," Brooke snickered from the porch to her and Stavo's room. Mobile in hand as she snapped a photo of them.  
"Seriously?" Audrey stared at her with a deadpan which made Brooke quickly hold her hands up in surrender.  
"Don't worry. Not going to share it with anyone. I'm not Nina,» she pointed out.  
"Thank god for that," Noah and Audrey said in unison.  
"Don't know what you're worried about. **You** are looking hot. Even a little side boob and everything," Brooke smiled to herself. Audrey sighed and looked at Noah who used that as an unnecessary excuse to hug her closer to him,  
"I really need to stop ending up in compromising positions," she mumbled, shaking her head at her own carelessness. Noah kissed her sweetly on the lips before looking sideways at Brooke.  
"You can send me that photo right?" he whispered, getting a soft smack over the head from Audrey,  
"What? It'd be a good memory. And she's not wrong. This is a good look on you," he defended, barely taking notice of Brooke settling down on the side of the pool to dip her feet in.  
"Done," Brooke sent the photo to Noah before putting the mobile aside,  
"So. How long has this been going on?" she asked, feeling a little bad for missing Jake right now after sleeping with Stavo. Seeing Audrey and Noah so close and clearly falling for one another reminded her of that short time she got with Jake.  
"Uhm..." both of them shrugged, not really knowing how to answer that one.


	13. Friction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brooke touches a nerve, ending the night in a less favorable manner than intended

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay they're going to reach Boston soon since there's only so much one can stall the point of the story afterall. I'm not feeling tip top these days so sorry if the chapter's a fail. The next one should be more interesting as it's time for them to reach Boston!

"I'd say gradually," Noah eventually offered as an answer when Brooke asked how long it had been since he and Audrey had started to cross the border from friendship to... _this_. He glanced at Audrey who was still sort of resting in his embrace, her arms on his shoulders with one bent so she could chew on her thumbnail while she was looking at something else entirely.  
"Was it that kiss at Kieran's birthday that did it? Because I kind of thought you liked Zoe," Brooke shrugged, not really meaning anything by it, but it caused Audrey to set her eyes on the blond sharply. Yep. Zoe was undoubtedly a touchy subject. Noah wasn't too happy about her bringing up Zoe either though least of all when Audrey started to push away from him.  
"A lot happened over the past few weeks," Noah defended, his hands following Audrey until she was at the pool side stretching after her shirt. He really didn't want her to go when they were having such a nice time.  
"I know. I know. Zoe just really liked you," Brooke said, gaze moving to Audrey who finally decided to say something once she had hoisted herself up on the pool side.  
"Are you trying to make us feel bad or something? Because I could be a real _**asshole**_ and remind you it took just a few days for you to move on from Jake to Stavo," Audrey snapped, getting defensive on both her and Noah's behalf.  
Brooke looked like she had been slapped, but Audrey didn't wait around for a fight to start so she turned on her heels without another word and entered the room where Emma luckily were still sleeping. Audrey knew she would regret ripping up old wounds for Brooke like that. If there was one thing she really hated about herself it was her short temper and unintentionally or not Brooke had just hit the right fuse button to lit it up.  
"Was that really necessary?" Noah asked, looking at Brooke as he pulled up to sit next to her.  
"I'm sorry I didn't mean it like that. It's just that I considered Zoe a friend and she really, really liked you, but you're right I'm sorry. It wasn't fair on you," Brooke sighed, feeling gratitude when Noah showed her forgiveness so quickly by wrapping his arm around her shoulder.  
"Look. After that party I eventually confessed to Audrey that I was in love with her," Noah explained which surprised Brooke,  
"She rejected me and so had Zoe the day after the party so... when Zoe then showed interest in me again I just... decided to give it a go? I mean I really did care for Zoe, but it doesn't mean I cared less for Audrey. So when I lost Zoe I was reminded that I still have Audrey who at this point is really the only one keeping me sane," he confessed to a whole lot more than he intended,  
"Like I said. A lot has happened. You know Audrey well enough by now to know she would never get this intimate with me if something hasn't changed for her too."

He left it at that so he could go find Audrey and hopefully get some sleep tonight. Tip toeing through the room he paused when Emma moved in her sleep. When he couldn't see Audrey in bed he knew she was in the bathroom so once Emma settled again he sneaked in to Audrey.  
"Hey," he whispered, finding Audrey having hung her wet shirt up and were currently drying herself up with a towel. His fingers already itching after touching her again so he circled her bare waist and tickled her belly a little which forced a reluctant smile to her lips.  
"Listen to me," he started once she let the towel rest over her shoulders, but she turned around and tip toed to kiss him before he could say anything. Slipping her own hands around his waist before breaking the kiss,  
"No. You listen. I know I've been less than honest for too long now, but I would _never_ use you like this if I didn't feel anything for you. You need to know that. I'm not doing this because I was jealous at Zoe or some kind of sick revenge. I can't really explain it, but-"  
"Things change," he finished for her to which she nodded, moving so she could snuggle her head just in under his chin and hug him,  
"I love you," she whispered, kissing him on the collar bone, feeling his arms tighten around her at her words. She could more feel than hear him return the words in a whisper against the top of her head.  
"Let's try get some sleep," he suggested.

There weren't much sleep to get of course, especially when Emma and Gustavo both woke up fresh faced and more than ready to hit the road as soon as possible. Audrey and Noah was far slower in their movements, but didn't protest.  
"Audrey?" Brooke knocked on the door to the room while Emma and Noah was out by the car, walking into the room looking like she'd rather turn on her heels, but apologized before she had the chance at chickening out,  
"I'm so sorry about what I said-" she started, but Audrey sleepily just waved it off.  
"It's alright. I know," she sighed which then turned into a long lasting yawn.  
"No it's just... Zoe was a friend and I don't know. I just let my mouth run," she continued to apologize to the point where Audrey had to hug her to shut her up.  
"Brooke seriously. It's alright. Please don't bring that up again okay? If anything it's Noah who should be offended and he seems alright," Audrey assured, squeezing her a little in the hug before letting go when her phone buzzed.  
"I'll take this out to the car for you," Brooke said as Audrey took the phone, snagging up the bag and hurried out the door.  
"Brooke, damnit!" Audrey rolled her eyes, shaking her head at Brooke's continued need to not 'take it easy' on herself.

A good ten minutes later Noah, Gustavo, Emma and Brooke were still waiting by the car for Audrey when Noah was finally getting a little anxious,  
"That's a long phone call," Noah got out of the car to go get her in time for Audrey to leave the room, not any expression on her face as she made her way to the reception to leave the key. Once she joined them by the car she took a moment to look at the others, shifting uncomfortably on her feet,  
"Hey so could we try to reach Boston today? I know we'll be very late, but we're so close and I would really like to just... get there as soon as possible. Even if it'll be night by then," she asked, not really expecting them to agree on it, but as the good friends they were they agreed without question.  
"I owe you guys," she mumbled sleepily, leaning heavily on Noah's shoulder once they were on the road.


	14. Welcome to Boston

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group finally arrives at Boston

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little off topic thing here. I'm a part of a Scream RP group on tumblr so if anyone's interested come join at survivehq.tumblr.com/
> 
> There's a few canon characters open too :D

Audrey was fast asleep on Emma's lap when they were welcomed to Boston by a sign on the side of the road. She even found herself dreaming of her mother sitting opposite of her in the kitchen back home in Lakewood. Just the two of them talking over a coffee before she handed Audrey a necklace with a key on. The same she had given to her before she were sent to Boston for treatment. It was a good dream. A peaceful one.

They had all taken the turn to drive through the day and they were all more than ready to get to the hotel as it was far past midnight when they rolled to a stop outside the hospital.  
"Audrey, we're here," Emma gently brushed a dark lock from her friend's face and for a moment Audrey looked at Emma where her mother's face had been moments before.  
"Ah. Sorry-" she scratched her head as she sat up and quickly checked for anything new on her phone,  
"Right uhm okay. I guess... I'll go inside. You should all just head to the hotel. It's fine," she assured them. Not expecting nor wanting them to just sit around waiting for her. She got out of the car and met Noah at the back of it,  
"Do you want me to bring your bag of clothes to the hotel?" he asked once opening the trunk, letting Audrey take out her smaller handbag.  
"That'd be nice. No point to drag the clothes around with me," she said, pulling it over her shoulder before closing the trunk.  
"Hey, call me when you need to okay? The hotel is just down the road, but I'll come if you need company," Noah assured, closing his eyes when she kissed him a last time.  
"Sure. Just enjoy yourself okay? I don't know how long I'll be here and if you haven't heard anything in the morning just go out and explore alright?" she told him.

Noah didn't like to leave her. He'd be willing to hang around the hospital with her, but he supposed she had a point. Besides he could need sleep and this was between Audrey and her family. Audrey waved them goodbye before heading inside with her heart in her throat. Her dad had kept her updated during the trip when there had been changes in her mother's condition, but the last few hours had been quiet.  
"Dad?" Audrey was sure she looked like hell, but none of that mattered when she finally found her dad. Crying.  
"Dad!" her voice broke because if her dad was crying it could only mean one thing.  
"Audrey..." Howard was on his feet the moment he realized his daughter was calling for him and could tell by the look on her face she had put two and two together. He pulled her into his arms and held her close while he tried to pull himself together for his little girl. He was the father. He had to be the strong one.  
"I'm too late-" she clutched at the back of his coat and he hated himself for her having to come to the conclusion on her own.  
"I couldn't tell you over the phone. I just couldn't," he explained, reluctantly pulling away just enough to cup her face for her to look at him as he explained.  
"When?" she asked, no tears falling yet, but her eyes wide with fear which only made her look so much younger than she already was.  
"Audrey-"  
"When?" she pressed, needing to know when it had happened.  
"About an hour ago," he reluctantly answered and it was what made the tears fall. She had been that close? She had basically been just around the corner from them when she lost her mum. Had they just got an earlier start of the day... or dropped one of the stops on the way she might have been there when she passed away.  
Howard pulled her into the room where his wife had been when she passed away. Embracing her crying daughter and stayed like that for as long as she needed.

Noah, Emma, Brooke and Gustavo were slowly getting the car parked, checked into the hotel and could finally get some sleep while Audrey stayed with her dad through the night. A doctor allowing them to borrow the room for now which allowed Audrey to try to get some sleep in the bed that last had kept her mother. It still smelled of her and it made the tears fall all the more. It wasn't until the sunrise next morning that Audrey woke up all out of tears for now. When her phone rang displaying Noah's name she realized she had forgotten to call him and that she had to explain to him what was going on.  
"Hey," she answered, her voice raw from crying.  
"Audrey?" she could practically see his frowning face with the tone of his voice,  
"Is everything okay?" he asked. She curled up on the bed without answering at first, keeping the phone to her ear as she watched patients, visitors and nurses passing by outside the room.  
"No. I... She's gone," she whispered, chewing on her thumbnail again as she tended to do when she was in deep thought or under distress.  
"Audrey..." Noah's voice dripped with sympathy and for what felt like forever he tried to figure out something to say without much luck,  
"I'm so sorry... Do you want me to come over?" he asked and she had to dry the tears on her cheek as if he actually saw them. Not wanting to be caught crying still.  
"No. No you stay with the others. I should stay with dad for now," she explained and Noah was of course full of understanding of that. They talked for a little while before it was time for her to get up and about.  
"Is it weird that I already miss you?" Noah asked, unaware that his question brought a sad little smile to her lips.  
"No. It's not. I miss you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God I'm so sorry Audrey aaah! But death doesn't wait for you :/ I'm so mean ugh.  
> Anyway when that episode of season 2 came out where Zoe died people was suggesting that Noah wasn't just imagening her in his coffin, but that it was her spirit visiting him one last time before moving on. So that's kind of the idea with Audrey's little dream of her mother at the beginning. As if it's her little goodbye to her daughter.


	15. Daughter to Father

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Audrey and her dad bond over their recent loss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> According to IMDb Audrey's dad was listed as 'Howard Jensen' so it's not a name I've just pulled out of my ass (can't remember if we hear his name in the episode?). We've only seen him in that one scene in season 1, but I think it's safe to say he def. loves his daughter. Anyway the whole thing about him not accepting Audrey and Rachel's relationship is just something I've based off the fact that she was grounded after that video Nina and Emma filmed. Which I thought was a bit of an odd thing of a parent to do when the ones in the wrong here were Nina. But no. I don't think Audrey's dad is a bad guy, but him being a Pastor I just felt like giving it a bit of depth there that maybe at some point had been a bit skepetic about Audrey and her girlfriend.

The day was heavy. Audrey was offered the chance to see her mother and while at this point she had seen more dead bodies than a young girl should have she ended up declining after a long time trying to decide. She would forever regret not being able to be there when she passed away, but she didn't want to remember her as a dead body because right now what she remembered was the last Christmas they had together in between the two massacres. Her mother were allowed to celebrate Christmas a few days back home in Lakewood and while she wasn't well it was something she had really wanted to do. She spent the days in the bed or on the couch with her daughter while watching movies and old Disney cartoons. It was a quiet Christmas they welcomed with open arms and it was a time Audrey would look back at as a little light in the dark.

That night Howard took her daughter out to eat at a restaurant by the Charles River. Insisting the both them needed to not only eat but to get some fresh air and spend a little time together. They got a corner by a window in the restaurant and while Audrey would occasionally get a lump in her throat thinking of her mother she also found it helping being there. They had known it would happen soon so in a way they had tried to prepare for her passing the best they could. It didn't make it hurt less, but they knew at least his wife and her mother were in no pain anylonger. She could finally be at peace.  
"We talked about you before she died," Howard started saying,  
"She told me to tell you how proud she was of you. For saving your friends. For helping to bring these mad men down,» he told her and even assured that whatever had happened with Piper or on that video Kieran had made – it changed none of it. Audrey had had her mother's love until the very end and would always have it. It brought new tears to her eyes, but it was something she had needed to hear. They talked a lot and probably bonded more that night than they had in years now. Everything from Rachel to Emma, the murders, the future and eventually Noah.  
"I'd rather not talk about my love life with you," Audrey grimaced, hiding half her face between a huge mug of Pepsi,  
"After all the first time I wasn't even prepared to have that talk," she sighed, remembering Rachel fondly, but not how things got out or ended. Her dad had grounded her and she knew one of the reasons for it was for kissing a girl. Looking at him now though something had undoubtedly changed with him as well.  
"Don't let my mistakes in the past make you feel you have to keep things from me. What happened with Rachel... it was wrong of me to act that way. It just... took me by surprise," he tried to explain. He had never considered himself homophobic until he realized he had reacted in a manner that didn't support that claim. He loved his daughter though. No matter what.  
"Yeah well it wasn't exactly that way I wanted anyone to know, but... I'm not even gay, dad. Just... I don't know. Bi?" she was clearly uncomfortable talking about something she wasn't sure how to explain in the first place. It wasn't what defined her and over the past year she had been rather busy trying not to get herself killed than to think too much about love. Not to mention she blamed herself non stop for Rachel's death. It had taken a long time to try to move on.  
"Then there's Noah," Howard said, raising both eyebrows in an effort to actually try to look innocent, causing Audrey to roll her eyes.  
"Yeah. What about him?" she asked, playing the innocent card as well.  
"Audrey. The past weeks you two have been closer. Than usual I mean. Is there something going on there?" he asked, taking note of the way she was giving him a dead glare meant he was onto something.  
"Maybe? I guess," Audrey admitted,  
"I don't know when that started to change, but he's always been there. It took me a while to think it might be something more there," she shrugged, taking a long sip of her Pepsi while wishing it was some kind of alcohol. As if she was going to tell her dad about the intimate make out session she'd had with Noah already.  
Howard allowed for a little moment of quiet for them to eat and drink, looking at his daughter as she was watching the dark river outside.  
"You're still young, Audrey. Finding your soul mate at a young age is rare," he explained and she nodded in agreement to that. The thing was that even before anything with Noah went from friendship to romance he had undoubtedly always been her soulmate. If there even were something like that. She wasn't sure if she believed in that kind of thing.  
"Hey," her dad's voice had her look up, both having finished their food by now,  
"How about you go stay with your friends tonight?" he suggested, reaching out and resting his hand on hers when she was about to protest,  
"It's alright. I have a lot to plan and prepare tonight and I don't know how long it will take. You might as well be with someone who can offer you company."

So that's why she was getting out of the car at the hotel. Asking about a room in anyone of her friends' name and found that they had two rooms. Emma and Noah in one, Brooke and Stavo in the other and that both had said that an 'Audrey Jensen' were welcome up at any time. So she went for Noah's room unsure if he would actually be in right now, but she did try knocking. Hearing the sound of a chair move inside she seriously hoped she weren't at the wrong floor and the wrong door.  
"Audrey!" that warm voice and sweet smile was no stranger though and she found herself wrapping her arms around Noah.  
"I've missed you," Audrey mumbled against his chest, feeling him tug her gently into the room so he could close the door.  
"I've missed you too. How are you?" he asked, pulling back so he could stroke her cheek.  
"Been better? I've talked a lot with dad. Which helped. He insisted I'd come stay here tonight. Hope that's okay," she explained, looking weary and red eyed.  
"Of course. Emma said she's more than willing to stay over at Brooke and Stavo's room to give us a little room," he said, sliding her handbag off her shoulders before getting her to bed.


	16. One of a Kind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Audrey spends some time with her friends again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so it's getting to a point where I'm going to have to start wrapping things up here. There'll still be a few chapters, but I haven't decided how many yet. But for a story I intended to have at the most maybe four chapters I'd say it has had a good run XD

Noah woke up the next morning to rays of sun blinding him as he tried to open his eyes. Realizing he had forgotten to pull the curtains before the windows once Audrey had showed up. Sometime after Audrey had fallen asleep Emma had come by, realizing her bestfriend was there so she did as she had promised and went to Brooke's room for the night.  
Turning over onto his side to face Audrey he jolted a bit in surprise to see she was looking at him. The little girly yelp he let out caused her to smile though he noticed tear tracks on her cheek,  
"You're one of a kind, Noah," Audrey whispered, not moving from her position. Being curled up under the sheets with her head on the most comfortable pillow she had ever had the pleasure of laying her head on.  
"You know it," he smiled, shifting closer to her and ran his thumb over the tear track on her cheek,  
"That wasn't a compliment was it?" he narrowed his eyes suspiciously, making Audrey roll her eyes. She wrapped her arm around him and gladly accepted his attempts at comforting her.  
"Sure it was. You know I love you and your weirdness. Your ' _Noah-ness_ '," she smiled against his shirt. He rubbed her back in circles for the longest of times, eventually resting his hand on her thigh when he got tired of it.  
"How's your dad?" he asked, giving her leg a gentle squeeze.  
"Being strong for me. Last night we talked so much I feel like I learned to know him all over again. He even apologized for everything back when I met Rachel and everything of what followed," she explained to which Noah had to smile. He knew Mr. Jensen was a good man, but had never understood why he grounded Audrey in the first place back then.

There was a knock on the door about thirty minutes later which Noah went to check out, finding Emma on the other side curling a lock of hair around her finger,  
"Is Audrey still here?" she asked and with a nod Noah let her in. Audrey smiled when she saw Emma and invited her over with a hand. She wasn't hard to ask and soon Emma found herself crawling onto the bed and pulled Audrey into a comforting hug which threatened to make the tears roll again.  
"There's no catching a break around here," Emma muttered, holding her to her chest while rubbing her back. Noah had just closed the door when there was another knock, this time from Brooke.  
"I knew you were going over here," the blond accused, looking at Emma comforting Audrey before she got in too behind the dark haired girl.  
"This is getting crowded," Audrey pointed out, unable to keep from smiling when Emma and Brooke were being so cute.  
The days passed pretty slowly and Audrey spent them going between her friends and her father. Two days later though when Howard was actually out on lunch with Audrey and her friends he took her aside with some news.  
"I will be returning home tomorrow morning," he explained,  
"I'll be traveling with your mother's urn back to Lakewood and will prepare the funeral," he sat down on a bench, patting the seat next to him for her to sit down. Audrey swallowed and sat down quietly, keeping her eyes on her hands.  
"She wanted to be buried in Denver so I have to plan the funeral there," he continued to explain. Denver. Her mother had grown up there, but Audrey had never actually been there herself so now she kind of regretted that the first time she'd see where her mother came to be who she was would be at her funeral.

"Alright. So you want me come with you?" Audrey asked, willing to do anything he wanted of her so she could help out the best she could.  
"How about you stay with your friends here in Boston. The funeral wont be set up before another week in Denver. As long as you are there for it I leave it for you to just enjoy yourself. You've been through a lot. You all have," Howard looked towards the young people at the table at the cafe enjoying some ice cream in the sunlight. Looking at them now it was hard to believe they've survived two massacres.

They returned to the table where Howard explained to them he'd be returning to Lakewood the following morning and that he would like to take them out to eat the same evening. That was of course something they gratefully accepted. Then they could give Howard a much needed break as well for while he was good at keeping his troubles to himself they could see it in his eyes how weary he was.  
Howard made a deal to come pick them up at eight at the hotel since he stayed elsewhere. That left them with a good five hours to spend their day elsewhere. Brooke and Emma decided to go shopping while Audrey wanted to relax at the hotel for a little while which meant Noah wished to keep her Company. Gustavo had no interest in shopping so he headed to the hotel as well to stay at his and Brooke's room working on some art.

"It's a nice view," Audrey smiled from the window at their room about an hour later, watching the Charles River in the distance. Noah looked away from the magazine he had brought earlier, observing her for a while before getting up from bed, coming up beside her to watch the view as well,  
"You sure you don't want to go out to explore?"  
She didn't really answer, just shook her head a little before looking up at him.  
"Then what do you want to do?" he wondered, wanting to do something to brighten her mood. He found her invading his personal space seconds later, her hands grabbing the lapels of his shirt as she kissed him.  
"As much as I love making out with you, doing that for four hours are going to make our lips sore," Noah pointed out to which Audrey smiled and kissed him again.  
"I don't mean just kisses, Noah," she said, almost tip toeing so she could press her forehead against his, her fingers curling around the back of his neck instead. It did take him by surprise, but it was a nice surprise nonetheless.  
"You sure?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright now it's actually heading towards an actual hook up between Audrey and Noah. It took 16 chapters, but I didn't want them to sleep together before Audrey made the move you know? Since Noah's known his feelings for a while now it was really up to Audrey to figure it out too. I have no idea how I end up writing it yet - haven't written a single word for the next chapter yet. We'll see... We'll see :P


	17. Explore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Audrey and Noah takes a big step in their relationship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter contains sexual content

Noah sat on the bed just as Audrey slid her hand behind his shoulder as she straddled his lap,  
"You know if you still rather to explore the city, that's okay," Audrey smiled against his lips, while her fingers started working on unbuttoning his shirt.  
"Not anymore. I'd rather explore you," he breathed and Audrey choked on a laughter.  
"Well aren't you smooth," she still snickered, the line earning him another long lasting kiss.  
The anticipation of what was coming making him a little clumsy which Audrey just found endearing. It was typical Noah. What was not to like?  
She finished with his shirt and slid it off his shoulders and he didn't waste any time hooking his fingers at the bottom of her shirt and pulled it over her head. His hands finding her side as their lips met again. Her fingers carding through his hair while he unhooked her bra, making her pull her hands back to get it off her arms as well. Once it was off he started placing kisses and gentle bites on her neck and collar while cupping her waist. She sighed and tightened her fingers in his hair, leaning down to playfully nip at his earlobe.  
They were kissing again when she started working on getting his pants open,  
"Shit!" causing her to stop and pull back. Looking at him curiously with a slightly tilted head.  
"Already? I barely touched you," she snorted, her joke making him roll his eyes.  
"What? No, Audrey, jesus," he laughed, pausing their movements completely by wrapping his arms around her waist,  
"It's just I don't have any... condoms," he admitted.  
"Ah," She grimaced and rested her hands on his shoulders, trying to come up with something that wouldn't ruin the mood, but none which didn't mean one of them having to leave the room.  
"Stavo!" Noah suddenly lit up.  
"Where you going with this?" she narrowed her eyes suspiciously.  
"Oh just... He's next door and back at that Walmart at the start of the road trip he bought a pack of condoms. There's no way he's used all of them!" Noah said and the look on Audrey's face didn't improve at all.  
"Not a thing I needed to think about, Noah," she rolled her eyes, but he ignored her sass and kissed her.  
"Wait here. I'll be right back," he gently rolled her off his lap and onto her back on the bed while kissing her,  
"I mean it. Don't do anything at all."  
He reluctantly stood up to put his shirt back on while Audrey grabbed the sheets and wrapped it around her as she sat up on bed,  
"You know if you tell him he's going to tell Emma and Brooke," she said, chewing on her thumb as she watched him. Quite enjoying the messy hair he was sporting right now,  
"Then they'll ask for details. Well, Brooke at least."  
"Don't worry, I'll tell all the details," Noah quickly kissed her before hurrying out of the room when Audrey cursed him out. She sighed and dropped back on bed, sliding her pants off to make it easier when he returned, but stayed curled up in the sheets.

Noah knocked on the neighbor door quickly, almost tip toeing on the spot waiting for the footsteps on the other side to come close enough to open the damned door.  
"Noah, what's up?" Stavo raised an eyebrow noticing Noah's messy hair and incorrectly buttoned shirt. A knowing smile turned his lips up and Noah thanked god for Audrey not being there to see it. She'd only get annoyed.  
"I bet you regret not buying condoms at Walmart right about now," he teased and Noah awkwardly tried to appear more confident than he felt.  
"Uhm well yeah. You don't happen to eh... have any left do you?" he worried his bottom lip and glanced around the corridor to make sure no one was sneaking up on them.  
Stavo rolled his eyes before vanishing into the room for his bag, returning with a row of three packs of condoms.  
"Three? Thanks," Noah quickly pocketed them and Stavo gave him a pat on the shoulder.  
"You'll find it pretty useful to have around when you get a girlfriend," he assured.

Noah returned to his room half expecting Audrey to have gotten dressed again and left. Instead he found her sitting on the bed with the sheets around her looking ridiculously beautiful,  
"Why hey there. Was starting to think I had scared you off," she smiled sweetly, though it turned into a soft laughter as Noah pulled his shirt over his head and ditched his pants.  
"Then you truly don't know me," he pointed out, joining her in under the sheets when she welcomed him back.  
"I know you better than most, Noah Foster," she mumbled, allowing his weight to push her down on the mattress. Wrapping her arms around his back she placed her fingers near the small of his back before dragging them upwards causing him to gasp,  
"Call it revenge for that time in the pool," she whispered. He silenced her cheeky comment by pressing their lips together, carefully lowering his body onto hers. They both still wore their underwear -sans her bra, but neither of them were in a hurry and wanted to enjoy the foreplay. The usual awkwardness nowhere to be seen now when he knew what he wanted. Even if it was something he wasn't exactly experienced at. He slid his hand over her torso, appreciating it the way he had dreamed of doing for a while now. His fingers fitting against her ribs causing her to smile while biting down on her bottom lip. The way he touched her tended to leave her a bit short of breath. The shamefulness he had shown the first time they made out in a bed was long gone as well as his hand covered her breast and gently massaged it, causing her to let out a soft moan and tighten her arms around him.   
This was undoubtedly one way to spend at least some of the next few hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah so you might remember I said I'm not overly comfortable with smut/sex scenes and that decided to kick in here in this chapter anyway. I like it sweet and leaving some to the imagination :P


	18. A First

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Howard takes Audrey and her friends out on his last night in Boston.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was so odd to not post a new chapter yesterday, but I didn't have much of a choice. I worked late and started early today so I couldn't get it ready in time. Neither did I want to rush the chapters that I now work on wrapping the whole story up. So I can't promise I'll be able to get the next chapter up tomorrow because I work everyday this week, but I always try :) I've decided that I will attempt for chapter 20 to be the last chapter.
> 
> Anyway that being said there's more fluff than sex in this chapter, but I suppose sexual content still stand. Just Audrey and Noah being stupidly in love. Also worked up a little backstory for Howard and his wife. Enjoy =)

Afterwards Audrey found herself on her side, body pressed against his with her leg thrown over his hip with the sheets carelessly draped over their bottom half. Her arms trapped between the two of them so her fingers could stick up and cup his face,  
"You realize that was my first time with a guy right?" Audrey smirked, her skin still clammy which was why they had pushed the sheets down to their hips.  
"And did it live up to your expectations?" Noah asked, placing a kiss on the bridge of her nose.  
"Meh, it was alright," she shrugged, laughing when Noah gasped in offense and pressed his hand against her ribs.  
"You tell the truth or I'll make you regret that sass," he warned, tapping his fingers which she knew meant he'd tickle the hell out of her.  
"Noah if you can't tell when you've successfully pleased a girl things doesn't look too bright for you,» she teased him, stroking his cheek with her thumb as she kissed him. He considered her words, his nose bumping against hers since they were so close,  
"I suppose. It did sound like you enjoyed it."  
"Exactly," she smiled, sliding her toes down his leg,  
"Hey how much is the time?" she asked, lifting her head to look for her phone. After a wee bit of stretching and bit of rolling about she got a hold of it,  
"Hm we got a bit over three hours. No hurry there," she winked, dropping her phone on the bedside table before she pushed at him. Not stopping until she straddled him. She folded her arms over his collar before laying down, resting her chin onto of her hands,  
"How many did Stavo give you?" she asked, both his eyebrows raising in surprise when he figured where she was going with this.  
"Two more..." he answered, his finger tips trailing up and down her back in a lazy manner.  
"Wonderful," she grinned, slipping her hands around his neck instead.

Just about two hours later Audrey and Noah left their room. All cleaned up and ready for an evening out with their friends and her dad.  
"Okay so it's a given that I will make you suffer if anyone mentions this to my dad right?" she asked, pulling on her short, blue bomber jacket as Noah closed the door.  
"You don't need to tell me that, Audrey. You think I go out there looking for reasons for your dad to hunt me down?" he sighed. Howard was a great guy and all, but still. He had just slept with his daughter. Twice. That just wasn't dinner conversation.  
"Good point," she relaxed a little, forcing down a smile as Noah slipped his hand around her waist and into the back pocket of her black jeans, pressing a lingering kiss to her temple.  
"Why look at you two. Looking almost as good as me and Brooke," Stavo sort of complimented. He and Audrey had a rough start and while they were on better terms now there was no denying the two of them enjoyed teasing and annoying the other. Now though he genuinely didn't mean anything about it. Noah was his friend who had taken Zoe's death hard. So hard he really was about to close down the Morgue. Seeing him getting the girl he wanted – even when said girl was shady as fuck Audrey Jensen, well it was nice.  
"Okay, Picasso. Not a word about this," Audrey warned.  
"I'll think about it," Stavo shrugged, hands in his pockets.  
"Hey I mean it," Audrey glared as they headed to the elevators,  
"Where's Brooke and Emma anyway. Can't be out still right?"   
Stavo shrugged,  
"Got a text from Brooke about forty minutes ago. They should be here soon. They still got about an hour left so who am I to nag?" Stavo said. The trio headed down to the reception and ended up enjoying some way too expensive soda from the bar. Brooke and Emma and showed up barely two minutes after they had gotten to the reception, but had headed upstairs to drop of what they had bought and change before the dinner. By the time they returned downstairs Howard had arrived and was ready to take them out.

The night was great. A very much needed one for all of them. Howard found himself not minding talking about his wife when Brooke asked about her. Not really having known Audrey before Piper's killing spree she hadn't known a whole lot about her friend's mother and even though the two had become close now there were some things she hadn't felt right about asking.  
"She was a horse girl actually. Owned a pretty black horse when we were young," Howard explained after dinner while they were enjoying their drinks,  
"I met her during a weekend I was in Denver with friends when we were in University. Almost hit both her and the horse with my car. Understandably she was so mad and when she figured out I had intentions of becoming a Pastor she cursed me out in the most colorful language I've ever heard," he chuckled. Audrey rested her head on Noah's shoulder the whole time. Knowing most of the stories he told, but loving hearing them again. She loved her friends all the more for their willingness to listen and allow her dad to get to speak of his wife through all those years.  
"She decided to tell me she was pregnant with Audrey while I was driving. Almost had me hit another car. Now that I think of it that was kind of a recurring theme in our marriage," Howard frowned. Emma grinned, hearing the stories. She remembered Audrey's parents when they were children. While her mum would take them to the farm with the horses Audrey's mum would often take them to the movies every Saturday for quite a few years. She would undoubtedly be remembered fondly.  
"Hey," Stavo took Audrey aside later while Howard was off getting the car after dinner,  
"I'm sorry about your mom. I know you think me a emotionless rock, but I remember how it was when I lost my mom,» he said. Not offering a whole lot of emotions now either, but he was undoubtedly genuine.  
"Thank you," Audrey smiled a little, pleasantly surprised by the kind words.

Howard drove them back to the hotel and dropped them off, and while the others headed up he said his goodbye to Audrey with the promise of keeping her updated on the progression of the funeral in Denver. When Audrey finally joined them upstairs they had all gathered in Stavo and Brooke's room with some beer they had brought earlier,  
"So that's what you did today? Beer shopping?" Noah chuckled.  
"No of course not. Found some nice clothes too. How about you?" Brooke asked, looking from Noah to Stavo.  
"Well, Noah and Audrey had sex," Stavo looked up from his beer and had only given a second of warning about what he was about to say by winking at Audrey.  
"You son of a-"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stavo. Being sweet one moment and the same old fucker the next XD
> 
> Also Audrey's blue bomber jacket from season 2 makes an appearance (in written words lol) because damn that is a good look on her.


	19. Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang enjoys their last days in Boston

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright one chapter to go after this. Chapter 20 however will not be posted tonight (friday) because I'm already delayed with this one and I work both friday and saturday too. But it'll be up this weekend. It is the finale so I want it to be nice and good you know? 
> 
> So yeah. Didn't think I'd be able to post this today and I didn't because here where I live it's going on 2 in the morning so yeah haha. But I found myself able to write and it turned out a teeny bit longer than the other chapters - so why stop when I'm ahead? It's mostly dedicated to the girls this time. Don't worry Naudrey fans. I'll make up for it in the last chapter.  
> Hope you enjoy!

"They'd find out one way or another," Stavo shrugged, completely unaffected by the death glare Audrey was sending his way. He was way too used to that by now to be bothered by it. Now Audrey however seemed right about ready to pounce on him when Noah grabbed her around the waist and instead tugged her over to sit on the bed with him,  
"Come on, it's no big deal," he assured her and both Brooke and Emma might have looked somewhat surprised, but neither were going to take the bait and ask them out about it. Audrey sat there for a whole minute – which she thought she should earn some credit for, before she stood up.  
"Okay I'm going to call it a night," she nodded to herself and left the room. This time it was Noah's glare Stavo felt on him.  
"Sorry okay? Didn't think it was a big deal," he defended to which it was Emma's turn to talk.  
"It's okay, Stavo, but the last time Audrey was in love and intimate with someone the whole world got to know about it. Shouldn't be too hard to understand that she's not big on revealing intimate details to others like this," she explained. She had known Audrey for so many years. How while she was kind she did wear a mask most of the time. A nonchalant attitude to deal with things. It's what got her through the cyber bullying the video with Rachel had caused. It's what got her through school the following days after said girl's death. That kind of 'revelation' that might be amusing to most wasn't really her cup of tea.  
"Can I borrow your key?" Emma stood up holding her hand out towards Noah who reluctantly handed it over. She patted his cheek though with a little smile,  
"I'm happy for you. Really," she assured, snagging two beers with her before leaving. She knew that the two loved each other though not exactly how much until now. It was rather endearing.

She left the room and alerted Audrey with a knock on the door before entering,  
"Hey. You good?" Emma asked, finding her friend on the bed with her laptop on her lap and the TV playing in the background.  
"Hm? Yeah. Annoyed, but fine," she assured, patting the mattress for her to sit down. Emma paused raising an eyebrow at her and eyed the sheets to which Audrey had to laugh.  
"Oh come on. Don't be a baby," Audrey tugged on her hand until Emma finally scooted in next to her.  
"Hey brought your beer," she smiled and handed it over.  
"You speak my language," Audrey laughed, gladly accepting the bottle before nudging her laptop over a little on half her lap as well to show what she had been looking at. First was an old photo of the two of them as kids, maybe nine years old with Audrey's mum outside the old theater in Lakewood. It was a sweet photograph of the two little girls hugging her mum.  
"Oh wow I haven't seen this in years," Emma smiled, leaning her head on Audrey's shoulder.  
"Yeah. I don't have that many old photos on this laptop, but I have uploaded most of my videos and photos from this road trip. Wanna see?» Audrey asked and didn't need to do that twice. Emma eagerly nodded just as there were a knock on the door.  
"You get it," Audrey nudged at Emma, too lazy to get up herself. Finding Brooke on the other side of the door Audrey soon found herself with a girl on both sides of her.  
"Talk about timing. We were about to check out things from the road trip," Audrey explained and they settled in. There were a whole lot of pictures from inside the car that were just disastrous. In a humorous way of course. Grimaces, sleeping faces, bored faces, faces being stuffed with food and candy. Basically anything one could do when stuck in a car hours on end had been taken pictures of.  
Their favorite photos though were from those times they had stopped to enjoy the scenery of mountains or fields, farms, forests, animals and cute little towns. It had really been quite a journey that had ended in a tragedy, but still allowed Audrey to see some hope for the future.

None brought up the fact that Audrey and Noah had slept together during the evening and for that they were grateful. They made plans for the following day to visit Carson beach since the weather was going to be perfect for a day on the beach. They knew they couldn't stay a whole lot longer than Howard Jensen since they had a long drive back to Colorado as well. So tomorrow would be their last day so they could go home to Lakewood and then to Denver because they all wished to be at the funeral.  
So the new day came and they slept late just to take the day with ease. Taking Brooke's car they drove out of the city, visited a nice little marked to buy something for the beach before their journey continued on to their destination.  
"So," Emma walked up beside Audrey as they left the parked car on their way down to the sandy beach. Stavo locking up the car while Brooke and Noah was way ahead while kicking a football ball between themselves as they walked.  
"So what?" Audrey asked, sunglasses sliding down to the tip of her nose as she looked at Emma.  
"Why didn't you tell me about you and Noah? Not... not the sex, but in general?" she wondered curiously. Audrey shrugged looking towards Noah,  
"I don't know. I didn't really know how to define it. Then after Kieran we didn't really want you to feel like the third wheel. Or fifth wheel in a car with two couples," she explained to which Emma laughed softly.  
"That's sweet. It really is and I do genuinely appreciate the fact that there hasn't been couples making out in front of my face 24/7, but come on. Yeah it hurts to think about Kieran, but that doesn't mean I can't deal with my friends being in love. Besides it has been a while since you lost Rachel. You deserve to move on. So does Noah. I think you two look so sweet. This is great news, Audrey," she assured, wrapping one arm around her childhood friend's shoulders to which Audrey wrapped her free arm around Emma's waist.  
"Okay then. How about you? You think you could find a new boy?" Audrey asked, but Emma shook her head pretty quickly.  
"I mean sure at some point, but right now I think I could need some alone time. It would do me good. It might take me a while to really trust someone again after Kieran," she admitted.  
It was a relief to see that Emma was moving on though even if slowly. They all had to give themselves time to move on. It wasn't as if Audrey had just forgiven herself for everything either. It was eaten at her every single day and only when she was alone at night would she give her time to grieve it. To grieve Rachel. Her mother. Even Jake who she hadn't even liked to begin with. He had deserved better. Especially after making such an effort to better himself.  
Time was the keyword.

"Hey."  
After a few hours on the beach Audrey had settled in the sand in the shadows of a parasol Noah came and sat down next to her with two ridiculously huge plastic cups of colorful slush. One for him and one for her.  
"Hey," she smiled, leaning over and kissed him on the lips.  
"How are you doing?" he asked, leaning back on his hand, purposely placing it behind her so he could sit close.  
"I'm alright," she said after a few moments of silence. It was a little different from the usual ' _I'm fine_ ' Noah noted.  
"Really. I think I'm doing alright. Especially with a slush this big and a boyfriend that cute," Audrey smiled, sharing another kiss with him,  
"I'm glad we spent the day here. It'll be nice to return to the hotel and just..." she trailed off and tilted her head back to look at him, answering only with a wink. He made an amused face and nodded,  
"I like the way you think."


	20. Bi-curious & the Deflowered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the end.  
> Time for one last funeral.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are. The last chapter.  
> I feel like it was the time since inspiration was starting to get a bit low. That being said it was because of a full work week that the chapter had to wait until today. Yes a lot of it is time jumping mainly because there's a few roadtrips involved getting from Boston to Lakewood then on to Denver after that. I didn't want to rush it either though so I did take some pit stops here and there since the heart of the story is Audrey and Noah. I do want you to know what they're going through besides moving about quickly so as promised in the previous chapter - Naudrey lovers this is for you! XD
> 
> So yeah. Thank you for all the hits and comments and kudos and whatnot. It's been a lot of fun! I hope you enjoy the slightly longer final chapter of 'Lakewood 4+1' as well as that lovely kiss we got in season 2. I just really needed to include one last photo as well despite ditching it in the last few chapters. It's a nice kiss mhm heh.
> 
> I'll shut up now. Enjoy!

The day when they were planning to leave Noah woke up to Audrey sleeping on her stomach hugging her pillow. He couldn't help but smile, sliding a little closer to pull the sleeping form to his chest. She made a whining little sound and hugged the pillow closer, causing him to laugh, sliding his hand around her bare waist and tickled the warm skin on her ribs.  
"Oh don't be mean," Audrey complained, trying to smack him over the head, but couldn't quite reach it with her back to him.  
"We have to get up soon anyway. Might as well wake up now," he told her, placing kiss on her shoulder blades, making her hum. Clearly starting to take a liking to what he was doing.  
So the two of them messed around in bed until someone knocked on the door and they realized they had completely ignored the time anyway. So the following minutes were spent running around the room getting dressed and packing down the things they hadn't the evening before.  
Delayed for about thirty minutes they were on the road before nine and the worse traffic seemed to have started to loosen up by then.  
The drive home to Lakewood was much the same. Many hours on the road, a few stops, different motels. The group was a little more muted this time around. With Brooke behind the wheel and Stavo in the passenger's seat Noah who sat between Audrey and Emma and had started thinking back at the first time he got a call from the Killer.  
"Noah don't go there," Emma warned.  
"I can't help it. If I don't do it now I will at some point. Might as well go through it now," he pointed out, his arm lazily draped over Audrey's lap, who currently were leaning against the door sleeping lightly.  
"The fact that it was Kieran standing over me after stabbing me... It feels so... absurd," he admitted, looking at Emma who nodded, curling a stray lock behind her ear.  
"I know the feeling. Maybe if you had seen him with your own eyes you would have an easier time believing it. He was so... sick," she shook her head, resting her head on his shoulder when he wrapped his other arm around her.

And that was that. There were so much to say, yet no way to say it.  
At the first motel they stayed at on their home journey were near a ranch where a young cowboy had shown interest in Emma while in the store. She didn't show any interest in return though. Despite the boy being cute it just wasn't an option, not to mention one night stands more certainly wasn't her thing. It gave them an amusing story though when they enjoyed some beers that evening. The journey continued on though and within a few days they were welcomed back by Maggie since Howard had moved on to Denver by then.  
They split up going back to their respective homes and had agreed to make the journey to Denver in two days. As it turned out both Maggie and Noah's mother wished to attend the funeral as well since they had known Audrey's mother well when their children grew up together. The days were spent just relaxing. Brooke stayed with Stavo and his father so she wouldn't need to be alone. Emma wanted some alone time with her mum while Audrey and Noah was attached at the hips like they always were. It's where they were more comfortable and with Howard in Denver it just came natural to them.  
"How's the preparations for the Morgue going?" Audrey asked one day when she was laying on his bed looking through a magazine while Noah was seated by his desk trying to work something out.  
"I'm kind of stuck. There's so much to say, but I'm not sure how to put it down on a script. I'm starting to think maybe I should give it some time. Just to get some distance and perspective on it all," he explained, tapping his pen against the table before glancing over at Audrey.  
"That might be a good idea. I doubt any of your listeners would blame you for taking a little break and prepare a good episode rather than a forced one," she said, supporting his decision. That was that then. He would probably have to come to terms with it actually being Kieran in the first place. Like looking back at certain points it was painfully obvious how suspicious Kieran had been, but instead he had been so focused on Audrey being the accomplice then wanting to get laid by Zoe. He couldn't help feel like he had messed up a lot. Maybe things would have been different if he had thought with his upstairs brain instead of the downstairs one. Maybe Zoe would have been alive. The thought made him look at Audrey again who had rolled onto her back holding the magazine over her head. If Zoe had survived he would probably never have gotten together with Audrey...  
It was an awful thought. In no scenario did he want Zoe dead though. Not even for the sake of her death resulting in him getting with Audrey.  
... but he really loved her. _Audrey_. Not getting to have her was painful to think of now.  
But he wouldn't have gotten a chance to evolve his feelings for her if Zoe had lived either. Maybe he and Zoe would continue on as a couple. He wouldn't have lost Audrey would he? Despite how bad both he and Zoe had treated her when she had needed him the most?  
"Noah I can hear you think all the way over here," Audrey sighed and put the magazine away,  
"What's going on in that head of yours?" she asked, spotting that sad puppy face by the table,  
"Noah?"  
He rubbed his eyes and shuddered. His thoughts having taken such a dark turn. Eventually he got to his feet and collapsed on the bed and Audrey wrapped her arms around him, resting the bottom half of her face against the back of his shoulder.  
"Ready to join the group of traumatized teens?" she asked, rubbing his belly making him smile despite himself.  
"Think I've been in it longer than I realized," he told her, trying to turn his head a little to look at her eyes partly hidden by dark bangs. She just hugged him tighter and kissed his neck.  
"Just so you know, this does not make me the little spoon."  
"Totally does," Audrey countered.  
"Hey no I love spooning you."  
"I know."  
"Can't we be spoon switchers?"  
"Now you're making things up," Audrey laughed.  
"Someone made up 'big spoon' and 'little spoon' in the first place. I think I should be forgiven for starting this stupid conversation," Noah defended and she had to agree to that,  
"Besides you're too small to be a big spoon."  
"I'm spooning you _right_ now," Audrey pointed out and that had Noah shrug out of the hug, turn around and didn't come to a rest before his head was on her chest and arm wrapped loosely around her waist.  
"Spoon switchers it is," she chuckled.  
"It'll be our little secret," Noah smiled a little.  
"Damn straight it is."

The day came when it was time to head to Denver. Emma drove with her mom. Brooke and Stavo together while Noah and Audrey found themselves in the car with Noah's mother. Luckily the drive to Denver wouldn't be as long as to Boston so after a long day in the car they were there. Once there Audrey stayed with her dad and didn't get to see her friends and her boyfriend before the funeral itself. During the ceremony she sat between her dad and an aunt she had never really met because of bad blood between this woman and Audrey's mother before she got diagnosed with cancer. If there were anything positive with all of this it had to be the family mending broken bridges again. She wasn't entirely sure what had broken her mother away from her family in Denver, but somewhere along the way they had decided to let bygones be bygones and reunite before it was too late.  
The weather was alright. A little windy and some clouds, but otherwise good. The cemetery was located near a pretty church and a nice forest, but being the type of location it was hard to be positive around there.  
Afterwards Audrey found herself in Noah's arms, watching the new grave with all the pretty flowers,  
"I'm going to stay with dad here with some relatives for a little while. Maybe a week or something. So it seems like you'll have to make the journey back alone with your mom," she explained. She had his full support at that.

It would turn out to be a good choice to stay in Denver for what ended up being two weeks. It allowed her to earn some more memories there besides the funeral of her mother. She got to know her family better and spend a lot more time with her dad. It got a bit crowded in the end though so by the time they were heading back to Lakewood she was more than ready for it.  
**_Lakewood_**.  
There were so much bad blood in that place. So many tragedies. Yet it was her home. That's why even when they would leave sometime in the future they would always come back. There were good memories there too.  
It was pretty late by the time they finally got home and much to Audrey's surprise Howard stopped the car outside Noah's house.  
"It's been two weeks. Don't pretend there's any other place you want to be right now," he smiled. She was quiet for a moment before a smile slowly started to form on her face,  
"Right. You know me too well now," she joked, giving him a kiss on the cheek before getting out of the car. She waved him off and turned to look at the house when she found Noah waiting for her by the door.

For Noah the past two weeks had been alright. He had missed Audrey, but he had busied himself with a new job, visiting one too many graves and spending time with Emma, Brooke and Stavo. Sometime during the second week he went by the Zenith Theater on behalf of Audrey to question them regarding her position at the theater. He found that she was still welcome to work there though they were surprised that she wanted to. It wasn't a big surprise to Noah though. It would spare her the time of looking for a new job, not to mention she didn't want that location to be remembered as a place where bad things happened. Now the Orphanage she would do just fine never seeing again, but that was at the outskirts of town so there had been no reason to worry too much about crossing path with that place again.  
Noah was more than ready for Audrey to return so when he got a phone telling him she was on her way he waited for her with food and everything. Seeing his best friend and girlfriend again after two weeks made her an insanely welcoming sight as she greeted him with a big smile. Wearing a fitted tank top and a loose red plaid shirt over that he quickly realized why he loved so much,  
"I like this look on you," he smiled, sliding his hands inside the shirt around to her back once she was there to wrap her own around his neck.  
"I bet you do," she grinned, pressing her lips to his. She had worn it to Kieran's birthday all those weeks ago. He'd remember that awkward birthday for something good at least.  
"I have food," Noah barely managed to say between kisses that were starting to get more and more intense.  
"Food can wait. I can't," Audrey snickered, not leaving much room for him to argue – as if he ever would. He moved his hands in under her tank top as well, loving her warm skin under his hands again.  
"Good. I've missed you, Bi-curious," he hummed.  
"I've missed you more, Deflowered."


End file.
